Raising Phoenix
by Dragons Quill
Summary: Severus and Hermione are now married and must begin to fulfill the Ministry's requirements to the Marriage Law.A tale of dealing with the demons of the past, the vengeance of the future and the blind, self absorbed and deluded visions of a son on the edge
1. Unsatisfied Suitor

Raising Phoenix

_Disclaimer:__ I am not JK Rowling; I don't own Harry Potter or any of the associated characters. The only thing I own is the plot and any characters you don't recognize and no I'm not getting paid for this story. _

_**Summary: **_Severus and Hermione are now married and must begin to fulfill the Ministry's requirements to the Marriage Law. But of course things do not go smoothly, as with most marriages. There is still quite a bit that must happen before they can become parents and there is that little issue of a once powerful wizard that feels that he did now get what he deserved and now wants to give others what he thinks they deserve. There are also the problems that arise from a pair of Phoenix and the consequences that arise from having a nesting pair in the dungeons. A tale of dealing with the demons of the past, the vengeance of the future and the blind, and the self absorbed and deluded visions of a son on the edge.

**This is the much asked for sequel to **_**'The Phoenix, The Raven and Prince Charming?**_** This story is not **_**Half Blood Prince**_** or **_**Deathly Hallows **_**compatible. It is building off of my first fanfiction **_**The Phoenix, the Raven and Prince Charming?**_** So in this story Severus is a Pureblood and pretend that **_**Deathly Hallows **_**didn't happen. Also if you are reading this without reading the first fic, then most likely you will see some of the characters as being out of character. Please don't flame me for that, I have brought them to this place and they are perfectly in character for the story. It is your fault for not reading the first fic.  
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_**This fic is a bit bipolar**_**; it has a lighter side dealing with Hermione and Severus and a darker side that involves the villain. The darker side will get darker as the fic goes along, I will include warnings if the chapter warrants such a label, I know that there will be at least one near the end if things evolve like I think they will.**

**Thanks to all that contributed to the great and wonderful plot bunny warren. I must mention my wonderful beta, fan fic sister and sounding board, Skydancinghobbit for help with 'Draco's quest' and the formation and thought process that brings him to the villain's position in the story. I will also thank **_**lotus elise, Heidi191976, Oracle, ahmo21, and oscarxena,**_** in the order that they sent suggestions that I will most likely be using in some form or another in the story. I will not be using anything straight from the suggestions I don't believe, but I figured I would at least give credit where credit is due. Without all of your wonderful ideas my poor plot bunny warren would be very barren, haha (ok so the joke was bad anyway). Thanks to you all.**

**The first chapter is set the day before Severus and Hermione's wedding.**

**Once again, this is written from an American point of view, so if I get something terribly wrong than sorry. **

Chapter 1

_The Unsatisfied Suitor _

Draco sat nursing his sniffer of brandy seething. He sat in a large plush leather chair clad only in his boxers in front of a roaring fire, despite the warmth of the evening outside the window of his small country home on the outskirts of London. A small house elf dressed in a grubby tea cozy was flitting around, spreading healing salve on the large number of burses, scraped and cuts that he had acquired on his failed quest for Hermione's hand.

He was absolutely livid with the fact that he had been unable to secure her. He was not used to not getting what he wanted, at least for the most part; the last few years had been a trial in that area, but everything wasn't exactly how it seemed.

Draco had gone back to Hogwarts for the first time in nearly six years only two days before. He had not wanted to go back there after the War. There were some unpleasant memories that he would rather have avoided remembering. He had left the school at the same time as Severus when he had killed Dumbledore, something Draco himself should have been able to do. He had endured quite a powerful punishment from the Dark Lord upon returning to him after failing. He gave a small unintentional shake at the memory.

But he had overcome and he had come through for his Master. He had made sure that he stayed in the Dark Lord's good graces. He had also made sure that he could beg himself out of responsibility much as his father did after the first Voldemort War. He had managed to get out of taking any major responsibility at his trial, despite the Dark Mark branded into his forearm. Now he had taken himself back to Hogwarts with the express intention of gaining Hermione as his bride.

As a Pureblood and follower of Voldemort he had always believed that he was superior to anyone of muggle birth. He had not changed in his views. The very thought of marrying and producing children with a mudblood was appalling. It went against everything he had been taught and believed. He did not have much choice in the matter any more though, he was once again under the direction of the Ministry wither he wanted to be or not. He was a survivor much like his father, and preferred to be on the winning side. He had to at least appear to be following the laws.

Draco had chosen to get Hermione for his own. She was the one nasty mudblood who had managed to upstage everyone, half bloods, other mudbloods and Purebloods alike. He had always been one who believed that he deserved the best. If he was now forbidden to marry another Pureblood and keep the family line pure, he was going to get the best of what he could get. He felt that if he was going to have to pollute the blood line, he might as well make sure that it came with some sort of advantage. Now that he was forced to produce an heir, than he wanted it to be one that would be able to surpass even her know-it-all attitude and excel among the heirs of his peers. But that was not the only reason he wanted to get Hermione.

All through his years at Hogwarts he had to live in the Golden Trio's shadow. He was supposed to have been at the head of the class, showing that Purebloods were the best of the Wizarding World. He would have been the shining example that his father had always wanted him to be. It had been placed upon his shoulders to show all the inferior mudbloods that they had no place in the Wizarding World. It was what was expected of him by his father and as such from himself.

He had learned on the train to Hogwarts however that the famous Harry Potter had made a reappearance into the Wizarding World. He had attempted to sway him to his cause before Harry knew what was what in the Wizarding community, but had been unsuccessful and they had become fast enemies. This had proved to be a major blow to his ego and to anything that could have helped Voldemort regain power.

The worst part was the fact that Hermione had been at every crossroads that Harry had managed to successfully navigate, getting himself one step closer to defeating Voldemort. She had even punched him in their third year, breaking his nose.

He decided that the Marriage Law was the best way to get his revenge. In the law there was no stipulation as to how a husband should treat his wife or the other way around. All that the law stipulated was that the wife was to bear six children, with the first child born or on the way preferably by the end of the first year. What better way he thought, than to acquire himself his own mudblood broodmare. He could do anything he wanted to or with her and it would be perfectly legal. All he had to do was impregnate her. He could always get rid of her and the child at the time of birth and claim that she had died in labor and the child with her.

It was the best revenge he could image. He would be subjecting one of his greatest enemies to a humiliating servitude, taking her when ever he felt inclined in whatever manner he desired. Then he would force her to carry his child and then kill both her and the dirty mudblood result, and it would all be perfectly legal. He would get revenge on Potter and the arrogant self absorbed mudblood all in one fell swoop.

He would also acquire whatever she had once she was dead, mainly a large sum of money that had come with her Order of Merlin, boosting his own bank account and making a large deposit into his Gringgots account seem inconspicuous. In the mean time he could help lobby for a repeal of the law so that he could get himself a real bride, one of Pureblood decent and preserve the Malfoy line unpolluted. He could get everything he wanted and it would all be legal.

But then things had not gone as he had planned. He had gotten an owl about a week before the deadline for her to choose a suitor. It informed him that he would have to pass a test before he would be allowed to claim her. The clue was that there was a test of 'charm'. Well if it was charm that she wanted, well it was charm that he would exude and thus in the 'fair lady's' heart, so that he could then rend it apart.

What he had not counted on was the fact that Severus had also been at the party celebrating the downfall of Voldemort. Draco felt that he had been able to make quite the headway against what ended up as the competition. He had also made sure that his minions had applied for Hermione's hand as well. He figured that he would look like the best choice when compared to the dimwitted muscle heads. And even if she had chosen one of them over him, he had made sure that he would have access to her body whenever he felt like it. Past privilege and power still had its perks.

Severus had interrupted his 'seduction' of Hermione with a thinly disguised death threat after he had told him to leave him and Hermione alone. He had faltered then. He had seen the ruthlessness and unforgiving manner that Severus had attacked in the raids. He also knew that he had been one of the more elite of the Death Eaters, at an equal power in the inner circle with his father. He had known enough to leave while he still could. He figured he would get what he wanted the next day when the rest of the test was to occur.

He was surprised when Ginny had led the small group of suitors to the lower lawns on the property the next day. They had not been told what this test was going to entail, but he soon learned that it would include riding a horse from one end of a corridor to another. It really was not such a hard test and was surprised that Hermione was going to leave her fate up to a mere horse. But he had been wrong. The horse must have been cursed or charmed or something because it would attack each man that got near it with a vengeance.

When it was his turn he decided that he would mainly ignore the horse until he was on it. He had spent some time on horseback when he was at home on breaks. He had also spent some time on a few green broke animals, his father claiming that it would teach him a lesson in balance and discipline. He decided that he would use what he had found out to his advantage. Once he approached the horse though, it had gone after him with a bigger vengeance than any others. He was sure that he was going to die. He was then saved by Severus, the very man who had threatened to kill him the night before.

He had watched with the rest of the crowd, in shock (and horror) as Severus suddenly decided to make a bid for Hermione's hand. He did not know how it happened, but the mudblood had not only accepted, but accepted willingly, he could see, from the smile on her face. He would not let this stand. Once a Malfoy set his sites on something he was sure to get it. It did not necessarily matter how what was desired was acquired, just that it was made his. He had decided that he wanted Hermione as a play thing, and that is what he was going to get.

Rising from his chair and punting the poor house elf (like an American football) that got in his way, still healing the abrasions on his body, Draco began to pace in front of the fire place. He wanted to acquire Hermione and he was going to need a plan if he wanted his vision to come true. He knew that there was going to be a wedding in the morning for Hermione and Severus. This meant that there was very little that he could do to get Hermione before her wedding. This meant that there was only one way that he could have Hermione for his own. He would have to take out Severus. There in laid the problem.

Severus was a very powerful wizard and had been, as he had pointed out at the party, Draco's superior in the Dark Lord's ranks. This meant that not only was he supposedly more ruthless than himself, but he also knew more powerful and deadly spells than Draco did. Although, his father had been keeping records about what the inner circle did and had secretly taught him some of the more powerful and devastating spells used by the inner member circle members. Lucius had been grooming him to one day join the inner circle beside him. Draco figured that Severus did not know the power that he was capable of using, even though his wand use had been restricted by the Ministry. There were ways to change the restrictions and there were ways to circumvent them.

Coming to a stop in front of the fireplace Draco threw back the remainder of his drink and then smashed the glass into the back of the hearth, feeling satisfied with the sound of shattering glass. "Today you have made an enemy Severus. Today is the beginning of the count down to the end of your life. I will kill you and I will take your wife however I see fit until the time comes when I can kill her and eliminate her filthy blood from the breeding population. You will rue the day that you defied the Dark Lord and you will rue the day that you took away the spoils of War that should have been mind. Very soon I shall stand over both of your dead bodies in triumph. Very soon I shall have everything that should already be mine." He snarled and stalked from the room leaving the house elf to clean up the mess.

**A/N: Hey everybody thanks so much for reading. For everyone who is new, I hope you all liked the chapter and go and read my first fic, it will make this chapter make a whole lot more sense. **

**Alright, here was the first chapter. I don't know when I will be posting again, unlike last time I don't have chapters written ahead like I would like, but I figured that I would get the first chapter up as a teaser, yes I know, terrible, terrible me, but I wanted to get you guys at least the first chapter. I have decided on a villain, see. But I can assure you all that you have not seen anything like what I will be doing in this fic. Just like with the last fic, I took the Marriage Law and used it too my own end, I will be using Draco's anger to my own devices as well. anyway, can't give away too much now can I? **

**Anyway, thanks as always to my wonderful beta Skydaninghobbit. Don't know when I will be able to post again, but I will post again as soon as I get something worth while down on the screen. Please review, Dragons Quill.**


	2. Marital Bliss sort of

**A/N: hey everybody! See I didn't take too long with this next update! Actually I am quite pleased with myself, even if I must say so myself. thanks to everyone who has reviewed and I must also mention **_**BuckeyeBelle**_** as well. I might be using some of her ideas as well but I did not put that in chapter 1 author's notes because I didn't see her PM in my mail box where I was keeping it until I did some major mail box cleaning and came across it. sorry I didn't mention you before hand, but better late than never right? Ok well enough of my blabber, onto the next chapter!**

Chapter 2

_Marital Bliss- sort of_

Severus Snape was perhaps the happiest man in the world, well at least in Hogwarts anyway. He could not keep a smile off his face and he was humming quietly a little tune under his breath as he stirred clockwise twice slowly and then once counterclockwise quickly, repeat. The simmering vapors from the cauldron before him seemed to make his cauldron waver in place and he lost himself to the delicate workings of the final stages of a large batch of hangover relief Potion. Watching as it turned the proper color and shade he turned off the heat below the caldron and turned his attention elsewhere while the Potion cooled; the sooner he cleaned up, the sooner he could be getting on to other even more enjoyable, newly discovered activities.

Luckily for Severus and everyone else for that matter, the spring term was over and had been for about a week. If it had been during the term, the most disturbing rumors about the end of the world would most definitely be circulating the school. The Potions Master no longer wore his deep perpetual scowl, at least not since he had been married, which had now be something like thirty six hours. In fact in its place was what would have been called an almost goofy smile on anyone else, but to some it would have seemed terribly out of place to most people, on the usually frowning Potion Master's face. While most of the young people of the school would have called it down right scary, to the one person it counted, it was one of the most beautiful things she had seen.

Hermione Granger sat quietly on the table across from the cooling caldron of Potion. No wait, it wasn't Hermione Granger anymore, it was Hermione Snape she reminded herself with a light sigh. She fingered the wedding band on her hand and a tiny bit of a blush rose in her cheeks, remembering the night before and that morning's 'shower'. She leaned back and surveyed her husband as he cleared away the last of the unused Potions ingredients and summoned a small crate of empty vials so that he could fill them. Hermione had made and finished her own batch of sober- up Potion as well a few minutes before him and had sat down to watch him as he worked.

She still could not get over the skill that he had in his hands, the fluid motions and the purposeful filled movements, no wasting any energy, not spending any extra time that he did not need. He had always had nice hands to her, long and graceful. Dexterous and always a good firm conviction behind each calculated movement while making a Potion. The concentration and attention he paid to his Potion brewing was nearly legendary, his results almost always perfect.

That same care and drive for perfection was also evident in other parts of his life she was now privy to. He had certainly been attentive in the time that they had spent intimately together. As she watched his hands she could not help but feel her cheeks warm slightly. She watched as the soft candlelight caressed and shown off of his ring, a mate of her own. She could not believe how lucky she was to get such a man as her own, all her own.

As Severus was putting the last of his Potion in vials he looked up as he heard Hermione sigh. Glancing up he saw as Hermione as she sat on the edge of the table across from him. She was sitting with her legs dangling over the edge of the table, swinging back and forth slightly as she leaned back on her hands. She rested her chin on her chest watching him much like a cat might peer at a goldfish bowl, with slightly hungry eyes. He returned his attentions to bottling the Potion and then banishing the remains of the Potion as he secured the top of the crate once it was full. He could not help but smirk at her unabashed visual devouring of his person. He saw her eyes take in his entire body as he spelled the crate to sit next to hers beside the fireplace.

"Do you find the view acceptable?" He could not help but ask as he came back from the fireplace to stand just out of her reach, as he pursued her figure draped over his lab table. She had chosen to wear a form fitting muggle T-Shirt as well as a pair of jeans above her sensible sneakers, which had been kicked off upon her Potion's completion. "Or is there perhaps something out of place that draws your attention." He purred as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the table behind him with a look of indifference on his face, but his eyes still took her in hungrily. The space between the tables was only wide enough for two people to pass.

"Well," she said with a straight face. "I have seen something very odd, but I would not say that it should be out of place. I have seen a smile on the face of one always frowning Professor Snape. But I must say that its appearance upon his person makes an enticing package of strength, gentleness and power even the more striking. I do believe it should become a fixture and not just an accessory." She surveyed him, licking her lips absently.

He was wearing his black trousers and shoes that he always wore, but he had left the billowing black robes back in his, their, chambers in favor of wearing his white shirt and black frock coat instead. She thought that the sharp lines of the cut fit him well, eliminating the intimidating billowing, not that it intimidated her, but it did tend to distract from his silhouette. What he wore now let her to get a less biased look at her husband's physique. She had already seen him naked in the firelight of the night before and during their shower, but she was finding the activity of mentally undressing him to be quite to her liking.

"But then of course, I am sure that the lovely view could be changed even more to my liking quite easily." She suggested with a grin and let her foot stray to rest against his leg. She then trailed her toes up his thigh towards his hips. "What do you think?" She purred.

Severus raised an eyebrow quizzically, trying to keep a straight face, but managing only to let a small groan escape his lips at the sensation of her feather light touch. Grabbing her ankle he then proceeded to gently message her foot. "Is that so?" He asked as innocently as the Potions Master could muster. "And what improvements would be required for the 'view' to pass your inspection?" He then ran his hand up her leg and stepped between her knees as she continued to recline on the table.

"Well, I would have to say that it already has improved." She purred as he settled his hands around her waist and over her buttocks. She sat up and clasped her arms around his neck as she nuzzled just below his jaw, breathing deep of his herby, spicy, musky, uniquely Severus scent. She decided that she should not be without such a delightful smell for very long. Gently running her lips along his jaw brought froth from him a low growl of approval. She then leaned back, much to her husband's dismay, but it was soon replaced with appreciation when it became clear that she was only drawing back to tangle with the line of buttons down his front.

Hermione took her time, unbuttoning and exploring each new patch of pale skin as it was exposed. She leaned back into his chest and let her hands gently caress the warm skin beneath the cloth, softly pressing her lips to each new inch. She had decided that she very much liked the taste of his skin as she traveled down his chest. Severus groaned loudly and then bent to her neck, nuzzling her ear and then coaxing her away from his own chest he began to leave a trail of fire along her collar bone. He caught her lips in a passionate filled kiss, their tongues battling as they kissed.

He began to guide her down to lie on the table and nuzzle her neck again as there was a loud resounding pop of apparatation behind them. They both jumped at the sound, and Severus leapt away from her, much like one of the hormonal teens he liked to hunt down and deduct points from in the halls when school was in session. He looked rather disheveled and Hermione looked disgruntled and let down as she propped herself back up from being quite nearly dropped to the table. Severus' gentle smile had now been replaced with a look that wished whoever the intruder was death.

"Here is lunch!" Squeaked Dobby from beside the fireplace, setting the large laden tray on the table.

"Why are you here?!" Severus asked him growling dangerously through gritted teeth, re-buttoning his clothes with a wave of his hand.

"Well, you are in the lab and you tend not to eat when you are in the lab because you don't pay attention. And now that you are married you can not afford to skip any more meals, especially when you are supposed to be paying attention to the Ministry Law. You will need all the strength you can get, especially you Hermione. You will need all the extra energy you can get." Dobby nearly scolded them in an extremely human manner.

Severus was rendered momentarily speechless by such a blatant illusion to what he would have been participating in at that very moment if in fact the cursed house elf had not appeared. From Hermione's vantage point she wondered vaguely if Severus was going to break his own jaw from clenching his teeth together so hard. Actually Hermione found the situation almost comical, though the rather abrupt connection of her head with the tabletop had dampened the amusement.

She was only vaguely surprised by Dobby's 'suggestions'. After all she had headed up SPEW when she was in school. She had had to give up the cause when it became painfully clear to her that she was not going to instigate any change because the house elves did not want it to change. She also came to realize that Dobby was actually more of a rarity in the house elf community, being happy to be freed. Although she would have to admit being house elf to the house of Malfoy was definitely something she was sure that most house elves would have been happy to escape from. Being a free elf seemed to have given him a bit more of a brazen spirit as was evident form the look that seemed to say 'try to challenge my logic'. He had obviously taken it upon himself to look after her and Severus now that they were married.

Deciding to defuse the situation before Severus incinerated him with the look of doom Hermione slipped off the table. She made a soft chuckle as she did so to alert Severus of her movements, she held no illusions to the fact he would probably be rather jumpy at the moment. She gently rested her hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze to get his attention.

"Thank you for the food Dobby." She told him kindly. "I will make sure that he eats something too. Although, perhaps next time you could at least give us some warning before you show up, or perhaps just send down the food. We usually eat whatever you all send down within a timely manner."

"Thank you Hermione," Dobby turned his attention to Hermione and bowed low, his large ears nearly touching the floor. "Misteress Hermione is too kind. It was decided that someone had to come down with the food. Food was sent to your chambers earlier, but when the plates did not return as they normally would, when the food was gone, we knew something was up. It was decided that I should come down here to investigate what was going on. Now I see that you are all safe and I must be going." Dobby said with a small smile.

"Goodbye Dobby." Hermione said in a tone that suggested he leave in the most immediate manner, although it was still kind enough not to sound mean. Dobby bowed low once again and with a snap of his fingers was gone. Hermione turned her attention back to Severus. He still looked thunderous. "He was just making sure that we were both safe." She offered up as she slid herself around to stand in front of him, her arms around his neck and fingers playing with the hair at the base of his neck.

"He was spying for Potter." He growled looking at her with a deep scowl, but he tenderly wrapped his arms around her, drawing her even closer.

"I doubt that. Harry I believe has other, more attention retaining things to do rather than wondering how you are treating me."

"I would rather not be reminded that my least favorite student is probably at this moment shagging a red headed Weasley somewhere above our heads and I can do nothing to prevent it." He grumbled.

"Why I never knew you cared so much for Ginny." She chided lightly.

"I don't." He said flatly. "What is irking me is that fact that he is shagging and I'm not, or at least he is going to be uninterrupted." He was still scowling, but he head leaned in to take a breath of her hair, kissing her lightly on her forehead.

Hermione could not help but chuckle at that although she was gifted by another scowl.

"Well, I do believe we can remedy that situation. But first let's at least look at what Dobby brought us. I do find myself rather hungry. Besides it seems that if we don't eat then they will once again show up inquiring about why the food was not eaten." She kissed him in an anything but chaste manner and then drew away.

She headed towards the hearth and then sat down in front of the fire that was crackling merrily away in the grate. With a quick flick of her wand the tray of food floated off the table and came to rest softly on the carpet next to her. She leaned against one of the chairs in front of the fire. She looked back at Severus and smiled and beckoned him over to her and then patted the carpet beside her.

Severus could not help but be amazed by his young wife's audacity to being so unaffected by the rude intrusion of the rather nosy house elf. He scowled as she drew away from his arms and sauntered over to the carpet and sat back against the chair.

"You want me to sit on the floor?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow, but made his way to stand above her with his arms crossed. "I do not sit on the floor, especially not on my lab floor; _especially_ when there are perfectly good chairs to sit in present."

She looked up at him scowling down at her. She could not help but to smile at him. "You know without your great flowing robes the affect really is lost." She smiled at him. "Well, at least if the affect could still be brought out in me, or at least the intimidating factor I'm sure you are trying to play. Although, I must say that you cut quite a striking figure which does affect me in some way." She said with a grin.

"Now as for opting for the floor over the chairs I do believe it will allow us to sit closer, although I believe a couch would be a nice addition now that I suspect we will be spending much more time down here. Come sit with me." She said. "The fire is warm, the carpet is soft and there is enough room to lean against this chair with me. Besides, if we were sitting in chairs there is nowhere but the floor to go if the fancy for anything strikes us. Think of it as skipping a step all together." She smiled suggestively.

She then looked away from him and decided to look and see what the house elves had decided they should eat. Uncovering the platter there was a plate of sandwiches, a pitcher of pumpkin juice, and a large bowl filled with all sorts of small fruit, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and alike. She moved away from the chair to put the cover of the platter on the little table between the chairs. She smiled to herself as she heard Severus give a bit of a sigh and settle himself beside her on the carpet.

Severus had thought about what she had suggested and decided she did have a point. This could be a much more intimate setting if he allowed it to be, even if it was in his lab. Wasn't he going to 'have her' on one of his lab tables not a few minutes before? Boy there was more to this being married thing than he had anticipated. He was going to have to work at this. He sat beside her as she looked at what lunch was, wondering what was next. "You had better not tell anyone about this." He half heartedly grumbled as he settled himself against the chair that Hermione had moved away from as she set the tray cover off to the side. He knew she wasn't going to tell anybody, but it made him feel better to at least

"Oh Severus, you should know by now I won't tell what shouldn't be." She sighed and looked at him. She then decided to do something more brazen than she had done before and decided that she would settle herself between his legs and lean back against his chest. He seemed to welcome the closeness and drew her close to him within his arms and he leaned down to kiss the juncture of her shoulder and neck.

"I know," he sighed. "But I must say that old habits die hard. I am still reeling from the fact that you are mine and that I have become yours. I never dreamed that I would get the chance to hold any woman in such an intimate manner and with as much respect and love as I have for you. You have proven your loyalty and commitment to my privacy more than once before in the time we worked together. Why I would think that would change now that we are married seems strange. But on the same note, don't think that I will change drastically either." He nuzzled her neck and left lingering kisses at her throat.

"Oh but Severus, I must say that you have changed." She sighed. "The Severus I knew three days ago would never consent to sitting before the hearth and letting me cuddle with him. I must say that I loved the old Severus, but the new Severus is even more enjoyable."

"The Severus of three days ago was not married to the most beautiful and intelligent witch of her age and did not believe that such a thing would even happen. Besides, last night and this morning has been quite an outlet for all the stress that has built up over a life time." He told her as he ran his hand along the plane of her stomach and along her thigh and back again. "Although you should already know, seeing as you are so smart, that you are going to be the only one to see this side of me. I have my image to up hold and classes to teach after all."

"I understand." She purred. "Let's eat something and then we can think about some dessert after that." She said with a sigh, running her hand along the side of his face and tangling in his hair. Then she drew slightly away and grabbed him a cup of juice and a sandwich and then she grabbed her own. She sighed contently as she slouched against him and ate her sandwich, listening to his stomach reply gratefully for the meal beneath her head.

"You may not believe it." She told him. "But I believe you are one of the most amazing men I have ever met and you will make the most wonderful husband and father. Now all that has to happen is for you to believe it. I have always known you to be a very intense person, I know I am glad to be the center of the intense love I have seen in your eyes and yes, even the lust I have seen gleam in your eyes when we make love. You are a wonderful man Severus Snape and I am honored to be your wife."

**A/N: well I hope you all liked the chapter. I know I had fun writing it. as always I must give major kudos to my beta Skydaninghobbit who I believe has far too much fun doing her job of being my sounding board as well. **

**On a somewhat euphoric note… I GOT AN INTERNSHIP!!!! Ok now I'm done… no really, I swear. Anyways I no longer have that worry hanging over my head and now I can actually get some sleep and a non sleep deprived brain is hopefully able to bring out more fan fic and put it on the screen. Anyways I felt that the world needed to know…**

**To address some concerns that a couple of the reviewers had that I figured you all might like to know is this: punting is what American football players do when they kick the football (not soccer) down the field. Also, yes I know that I said in the first fic that Draco is a ministry janitor and in chapter 1 it appears as though he has money. Yes I am well aware of this discrepancy and in fact there is a very good reason for this. I made the mention in chapter 1 that everything was not as it seemed, remember that and things will be revealed as we go along in later chapters, this 'discrepancy' will be important as the fic continues. **

**Ok well that just about does it for my secondary novel of author's notes. I hope you all liked this chapter. thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far and please review this chapter too, I just love the feed back you all dole out. I don't know how long it will be until I post again as there is still a lot on my plate, but I will be updating, never fear. I also have a one shot and a short little ficlet that I wrote while writing my first fan fic so you can go check them out if you want while I sit and stew on what to write next. Anyways, read on fan ficers, read on! Dragons Quill **


	3. Not Exactly How He Seems

**A/N: ok guys, here is the next installment of my story. you will all see what exactly Draco is up to. I know a few of you pointed out what looked like discrepancies, but see, they have been rectified and explained as to their origins. **

Chapter 3

_Not Exactly How He Seems_

Draco's life in the time since the end of the War and his trial had not been quite as bad as most of the people around him believed it to be. Yes the Ministry had seized his childhood home and reduced him to something not much more than a squib, but not everything was as dismal as it should have actually been. His father had been immensely confident in the Dark Lord's ability to win against the accursed Potter up until the very end. He had believed that Voldemort would indeed rule supreme, but despite this belief he had begun a plan that would keep his family out of harms way if the Aurors decided to raid before the take over was complete.

His father, for all his muggle hating tendencies had found a way to use them to his advantage. He had begun, and especially in the years after the first Voldemort War, opened himself a Swiss bank account. He had heard of that their power to conceal things and to keep things very hush, hush was legendary among the muggles. Besides what better place than right under the Wizarding authorities' noses to hide some of the most valuable and dangerous of the dark objects he had in his possession. The authorities would never look in a muggle Swiss account when such a Pureblooded family was so against anything muggle. Luciushad thought it not only appropriate, but ironic that he could use his very enemy to keep himself safe. He had placed a great deal of his gold, silver and bronze in the bank vaults.

Draco was unsure of what his father had told the bank's authorities, but he knew that the coins were valued strictly on their weight and not what they really were worth. Not only was the place and their vault enchantment free, with the exception of the dark objects that were concealed in bags specially designed to hide the magical signatures, but the Malfoys were able to save away quite a bit of money as well as some of the more valuable of the dark objects and texts without the knowledge of the Ministry or even Voldemort for that matter. Draco was happy when he found out that the Ministry was obviously unaware of his family's use of the muggle banking system, leaving him with a stash of cash and dark objects with which to finance nearly whatever he desired.

The only issue with it was the fact that he would have to do so in small intervals or it would definitely be noticed. He still had the Ministry breathing down his neck, it was sort of hard not to when you worked for them. He wasn't quite sure if the whole arrangement beyond restricting the magic he could do with his wand was as much of a punishment as to keep him under surveillance. He was somehow reminded of the comment about keeping your friends close, but your enemies closer; not that he minded on some days. Being the janitor, and as such almost invisible, had its advantages despite the devastating blow to his Pureblood pride. He had leaned quite a few things he was quite sure that he was not supposed to have known about long before anyone else outside the Ministry.

Being the Slytherin as always, he had soon learned to take advantage of his extremely 'high' low status. His family name, even though publicly disgraced in the trials, had retained some of its substantial prowess among many of the other old Pureblood families that still held such thing in the correct regard. His name also held sway because of many of the old alliances that had been formed and expanded upon before, during and after the 'Voldemort Wars' as they were now coined. He may not openly have the money to back up the power that he still wanted and sometimes still did wield, but he did learn well from his father and could use the famous Malfoy charm like a weapon.

He had managed to gain access to nearly every room in the Ministry of Magic with his status as janitor. He could not enter the highest of the Ministry's officials offices and he could not enter into offices to clean unless he was told to do so, at least not until there was no one present. Then he would have free reign of the place doing whatever he felt like as soon as things looked as though they were done up to standards. The Ministry might be overly vigilant of things they thought of as a public relations threat, but seemed to be quite oblivious to the threats that were occurring right underneath their noses; the proverbial blind spot of the whole deal.

Draco had also managed to make good use of the time that he had spent directly after he had been assigned to his current duties to his best advantage. He had been the first of this family to be tried. It had been believed by some of the judges that if they could get him to squeal that they could have even more on his parents to put them away that much faster. In the time leading up to the final battle he had been instructed about what would happen in the unlikely event that things went sour for their cause. He had been able to tell the judges things that they already knew about his parents and some of their associates as well as making it sound as if they didn't know it yet and he was doing them all a great favor. There may not be any honor among thieves, but when it comes to a matter of those same thieves being powerful dark wizards and part of your immediate family, well, that changed dynamics just a bit to say the least.

He had somehow managed to keep himself out of Azkaban, at least for an extended period of time, unlike his family. His mother was locked away alone in a cell until she died and his father was now worse off than dead. He had been kissed by a Dementor soon after he had been convicted of the sort list of crimes that he had been charged with. It had only been five feet of parchment with a list of different charges. Draco knew that if the list had really encompassed all of his fathers' 'activities' then it could possibly have to be carried on a spool the size of a car tire.

But the fate of his mother and himself was not the worst of it in the long run. It was what had happened after his father had been kissed by the Dementor. It had always been said that you merely became a shell of yourself when you had been Kissed, but that was not really all that happened. The truth was far worse. The person who had been kissed, over a period of about a year, slowly began to become a Dementor themselves, loosing what little humanity that still clung to the shell of a person after they had been Kissed.

It was something that still gave Draco not only the creeps, with a deathly chill running down his spine, but also made his blood boil. He could not stand to think his father being reduced to such a state that was the Dementor. He had been forced to interact with a few of them over the years in the Ministry and he had been not only fearful of them, but wondered if one of them had been his father at one time. It was something he could not accept. His father may not have been the perfect father, but there was still that strong family bond. Family did not let such horrible things happen to their other family members, if they could help it.

Draco had sat and seethed on that sour spot for many years now, and so had his father when he had been 'alive'. His grandfather on his father's side had been also Kissed before Draco had been born, back near the end of the first Voldemort War. It had been a personal wish and desire by Luicus to recover his father from the hellish limbo that he assumed that he was in, seeing as how the Dementors acted. He had heard about his father's quest when he was home on breaks but, he did not really spend any time thinking about it. Now he wished that he had paid more attention to what his father had said. He made the decision that he would not stand for his father being reduced to a Dementor forever if he could help it. He knew his father had not accomplished what he had set out to do, but then again he had been a bit busy with the Voldemort back on the rise and all. Now it was left up to Draco to take up the crusade; if he was willing.

**A/N: so how do you like them apples then hu? hope you all enjoyed the chapter and can see that I have quite the challenge ahead of me, so bear with the length of time between chapters. Thanks to my wonderful beta, fanfic sis and sounding board Skydancinghobbit. She has certainly helped shape this second story and the concepts of what will be able to happen and what won't. please review I love to hear from you all. thanks for reading. I will update as soon as I get the next chapter up and written. Until then- Dragons Quill**


	4. Lord and Lady Snape

**A/N: hey guys, I'm back with another chapter, it took me a while longer than intended but at least I have it out for you all. for everyone in the states, I hope that you all had a happy thanksgiving and enjoyed the turkey induced coma. Anyways, here is the next installment, hope you all enjoy it.**

Chapter 4

_Lord and Lady Snape_

After Severus and Hermione had finished eating the meal Dobby had so kindly provided, Hermione was reclining against Severus, wrapped comfortably in his arms. Hermione was on the verge of dozing off from the warmth of the fire and Severus' arms around her, listening to the music of his heart beating and the occasional gurgle as he processed lunch. She gave a content sigh and snuggled closer in to the warm robes of his chest. For Severus he found that the floor was much more comfortable that he would have ever imagined, he figured it had something to do with the fact he was holding what he believed was his dream woman in his arms and it was no dream. He had a wife to call his own that he loved and loved him in return. He could not help but smile in spite of himself. He however was not inclined to doze as Hermione was, still finding the sensation of Hermione's body against his far too energizing to find much rest so early, despite the prior activities of the day.

"Hermione?" He asked thoughtfully after an undetermined amount of time. She responded with a slightly muffled, but thoroughly content grunt from somewhere around his ribcage. "Was there anything in particular that you were aiming to do this summer that I should know about? Around the school that is." He absently reached up and ran his fingers through her hair, still marveling at the fact he was allowed such an indulgence.

"The whole plan was to stay holed up in the Gryffindor tower behind my viciously strong wards and hide as long and as often as possible from my new husband." She mumbled from his chest, shifting slightly to look up at him through her lashes. "Although, that plan seems to have gone very much astray." She said with a light smile touching her lips as she toyed with the buttons on his coat.

"It would seem so. I do believe you are at perhaps the farthest point from your tower hide out and you, wife have barely left my side since last night, not that I am complaining, although I must admit that having you around certainly has its advantages." He conceded. Hermione snorted in a mixture of feigned disgust and a vocal roll of her eyes. "What I was going to suggest, because you seem to not have anything pressing to do, that we spend the summer at my ancestral house. I have not been back there for any length of time in a very, very long time. I think that it is time that it is changed from a house into a home. And I believe that you are just the person to help that transformation, seeing as you are a Transfiguration Misteress here after all."

"It has nothing to do with the fact that I am a Transfigurations Misteress." Hermione told him with a smile. "And we both know it. But what about the fact that the Ministry held control of your house for almost two years while you were in Azkaban? Have you been back there since you were released? Do you know if they did anything to it while you were indisposed?"

"I returned there a few days before I came back to teach. They were unable or did not desire to break through my wards. I was still very much alive and still at full magical strength while in Azkaban. Actually I wonder if I wasn't actually increasing in power while I languished away, when Fawkes officially chose me as his companion, even if I did not really want to accept it at the time. My wards would have dropped, and still will if I die.

I do believe that the wards around my estate and lands are the highest around. They had to be. I was not only a Deatheater, but a traitor to the Death Eaters. I have wards to both bar entry except for certain criteria at certain times and wards that prevent the leaving of people from the grounds as well until they are released. There are also separate, different types of wards not only around the lands, but also around the house as well. I found that my perimeter bonds had been significantly weakened, but they had not been breeched and the house was as I left it." He told her with the relief that he still felt for the fact.

"I am lucky the Ministry is very lax about such things, because if they had gone in to a few of the rooms I am sure that they would have a lot more evidence against me to use at the trial. But then off course they would have had to break through some other separate wards that were also of my own making, providing they could find the doors to those rooms. They were concealed by both muggle and magical means."

"You used muggle means to conceal things?" She asked. "But you were raised as a Pureblood, and such things were frowned on."

"I am a Pureblood and I followed the Pureblood philosophy when I was younger, but back when I was in school I had friends who were muggleborn, well, one."

"Who?"

"Lilly." He said just a bit too tightly.

"You loved her didn't you?"

"Why do you say that?" He asked, she could feel that he had stiffened beneath her when she had asked the question.

"I could hear it in your voice." She told him, sitting up so that she could look him properly in the face. "What happened, or didn't happen between you two? Why didn't you marry her? I mean I know you all grew up together." She looked at him questioningly and without judgment.

Severus looked at her carefully, as she looked up at him so innocently questioningly. This was definitely not a conversation he wanted to have with his new wife, especially not when they had been married barely two days. He also knew that he could not get around this conversation, now it was brought up it could not be put aside; at least not safely without telling her the whole truth. With a sigh he looked at her and began.

"Well, we did grow up together, at least here at Hogwarts. And yes, there was a time that I did believe myself in love with her, or perhaps in the past few years, in love with her memory. She was the only one in my class I could really talk to. We would spend a large amount of time in the library studying and talking.

She was really in hindsight my only friend. I believed for a long time that Lucius was my friend, but as he is the one that got me into the Death Eaters and after reading some of the transcripts, accused me of some rather terrible things. Which if you want to be perfectly honest, I did do some of the things he said, but that was to keep my cover.

I had always admired her throughout our time as school. I believed at the time that we would have made a good match. The problem came in when I thought about asking her out. I was never very popular or good looking and she was my only friend. I was very afraid that if I asked her out that it would change the relationship that we had together and not in a good way. I was afraid that if I made a move in that direction that I would be rebuffed and that I would be left without a friend. Before I was able to get my nerve up enough to ask her out James Potter asked her first. They were engaged in our seventh year and I went into the Death Eaters that summer.

I later learned of the prophesy and who Voldemort intended to slaughter. I went to Dumbledore that night and confessed everything I knew. I had begged for death then, by his hand which I knew would provide me a quick, relatively comfortable death, instead of going back and risking death by Voldemort." He shuddered at the thought and Hermione leaned in to him as if to comfort him. "The rest you know from our time together and the pensives." He told her wrapping his arms around her to hug her close. 

"As with what I said the day before the wedding, I did not plan on ever really telling you how I felt, for fear that you would run or turn away from me and I would once again be left without any friendship, and nearly no interaction with the fairer sex. I felt that it would be better to be and stay friends to whatever degree you allowed, than be rejected again and to lose our friendship and trust. I could not bear to think it."

"What made you change your mind? I mean about telling me that you loved me?" She asked as she snuggled closer.

"Well lets just say that Dumbledore and his bird are?… were?… am?… still in cahoots. Somehow in a dream or out of body experience or something, I was taken to someplace that looked like the Headmaster's Office, but I think that was to provide a familiar place, to talk to him. He basically yelled at me in his quiet voice and told me to get off my ass and go after what I wanted. He also was able to tell me what the test was, though I didn't know it at the time. He basically is the reason I got up the nerve to put myself out for possible public humiliation. I am very glad that whatever it was that happened happened. I now hold in my arms the woman who can fulfill my dreams… brains and beauty with a kind and gentle heart. I am so glad that you said yes and did not reject me Hermione, even though I don't really deserve such happiness." He tilted his head down and lifted her chin that was nestled on his chest. He then placed a slightly less than chaste kiss on her lips.

"You do deserve it Severus. You are worthy of all the love than I can give and you are worthy to father my children. There is no other that I could find to better fit my dreams of a man. You are even handsome in your own way that others may not see as beautiful, but your face and body is the only one that I want to wake up in the morning and have your arm wrapped around me at night. You don't give yourself enough credit." She kissed him deeply again. "I would love to go to our home for the summer. The only question I have is how and are we going to take Prince and Lucy with us? Is there a place for them to stay?"

"There is a place for them to stay, if you remember, I told you that my father had a string of polo ponies. The barns are still up and are in good condition, we can easily do a side along apparate them home, or more accurately I could do it, because you don't know where home is. The last thing that needs to happen is for you to get spliced, especially if you are trying to apparate with a horse. That would certainly cause some issues with the Ministry I am sure." He told her with a slight shudder with the imagination of her splicing herself and or a horse at the same time.

"I can't let you do that!" Hermione said going tense and sitting up in his arms. "The last time Prince was apparated anywhere he nearly killed Minerva. That was when we brought him here. It is too dangerous for you to do that!"

"I have done it before. It just takes them some time to get used to it. Did you have his eyes covered?" He asked her.

"No." She conceded. "But I don't want you to get hurt! At least when I am capable of preventing it."

"I thank you, but I can assure you that everything will be fine. As long as you have their eyes covered and they can't see what is going on, then it will be fine, trust me." He told her and kissed her. "I had to help move horses from one estate to another during tournaments. I could apparate horses the second year after I got my license. It will all be fine. Besides it would be best to see the grounds and the house from horseback first. It gives a much more regal impression than after you have had to hike a couple miles from the estate edge."

"Alright." She sighed. "I guess that I will have to trust your judgment on this one. When were you thinking about moving into the house?" She asked him.

"I was hoping perhaps tomorrow. That should give the house elves time to prepare for our arrival and give Fawkes and Emerald a chance to return. We will also have time to pack. Although you don't need to pack everything like you did when you moved in with me. You only need to provide clothes and alike and only a few of your more favorite books. Besides I need to discuss with Minerva about having the Floo in our chambers and the lab hooked up with a direct link to the house Floo. That would make it much easier to get things during the time we spend at the house if we forget something, and even perhaps to move back when school starts up again." He told her.

"Oh and when I say a few books I am only talking five at the max. Don't pout, I will be taking the same, we can return for texts if we need them in our research, but for the most part there is enough material to keep everyone including a monkey's uncle and his brother happy in the house."

"There is a library?" Hermione asked with what could only be described as childlike enthusiasm, something akin to the excitement felt at 12:01of December 25.

"Yes, there is a library. Would you expect anything different?" Severus smirked, still running a hand through her tresses while holding her close with his other arm.

"Well, I really hadn't thought that far ahead." She smiled sheepishly. "I didn't really know what to expect. I know I did not really expect that you would petition. I know I was hoping and praying that you would, but I did not want to hope and be disappointed. I was afraid that you would stick blindly to your philosophy that you weren't good enough for anyone. I am so glad that Dumbledore talked you out of such foolishness. As for the living arrangements I really didn't think much beyond the fact that I would move in with you here in the dungeons. I didn't think about having a house and alike."

"Where do you think Lord and Lady Snape came from?" He asked her. "Do you think that Minerva just pulled it out of the air?"

"To be totally honest I really didn't spare it much thought, I was a bit more concerned with the day going faster so that we could have some alone time." She said with a slight blush rising in her cheeks.

"Ah, well, I suppose I can forgive your momentary lack of know-it-all-ness this one time." He smirked. Hermione scoffed and whacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Well are you going to tell me where the title came from or not?" She asked after he drew out the silence.

"I suppose so…" He said, but made no further move to do so.

"Oh the drama." She said with an over theatrical sigh, and putting her hand to her forehead. "You really should go into theater when you get tired of teaching, or perhaps into soap operas, I have heard they are always looking for the next top male actor."

"Soap operas?" He asked with a quizzical scowl. "I have never heard about those."

"Oh, muggle inventions for the television. Usually overdramatic and rather ridiculous plot lines that include a group of people that can't stay faithful to one another, tragedy that kills a character or comes close, shifting battle lines and alliances and usually at least three months of 'who is the father of the baby?' and the aftermath of the answer."

"Sounds complicated, who has time for that? Isn't real life hard enough to deal with and keep track of?" Severus asked, truly perplexed.

"I would have to agree but evidently someone has time for them, there seems to be more every year. But now we are getting off topic. How in fact did I become Lady Snape, when I believed all I was signing up for was Mrs. Snape?"

"Well, my family has been Lords and Ladies for at least seven generations. I believe it had originally to do with the fact that we were part of the landed gentry. How exactly we got our estate is not quite clear, or at least I could not tell you off the top of my head. I do believe though that if you were to dig deep enough in the library, you would be able to find any answers in relation to that that you may desire. We used to have a rather large tract of land in the north, but as times changed, bits and pieces were sold off and made into personal private estates by both muggle and wizard alike. For a time I believe the family even owned a small village, think feudal system.

But that is long past and as muggles began to move in and society began to change, the house and the residual lands have been hidden away from most muggle society. It is listed on maps merely as a piece of government owned property. Although when people looking to get on the land try to petition the right from the government there is no record of it in their logs. So anything concerning the estate is safely lost between the cracks of the government's dealings with things. Even if someone does decide that they want to come onto our land with or without the government's permission there are wards that will deflect them and in much the same way Hogwarts has 'stay away' charms on it, so does the entire perimeter of the grounds. It is quite safe from unwanted intruders of the muggle variety.

But that is beside the point. The point is that you are Lady Snape, just as I am Lord Snape, as my father was, and his father and so on. Even though our land holdings have been reduced, we still retain the name and the prestige that goes along with it. There is also the prestige that went along with the Pureblood line for a long time." He told her the last part a bit reluctantly, but as it was part of the story he felt I should be included. Besides if they had already had one uncomfortable conversation already, why not get all of the uncomfortable conversations done all at once if it was possible.

"I know that you come from one of the most Pureblood lines still in existence. I did some research in my free time a few years back. There are very few Pureblood families that are not in some way related to you. Your family was one that was perhaps the strictest in keeping 'muggle contamination' from your line." She said this hesitantly and he could feel how uncomfortable she was with the things she was both saying and hearing by the way she had stiffened in his arms. "I know that there are those that still hold such breeding in high regards." She commented, an unspoken question hanging on her lips and in the air.

"Be that as it may, I believe that is time that such a misguided notion is tossed aside." He told her soothing her with his words and running his hand along her spine and back again. "The Ministry had the right idea about trying to change the major prejudices against muggleborns, but I believe that they are going about it in completely the wrong manner. I fear that there will be many muggleborn deaths due to this law. There are still some of the Pureblood fanatics still on the loose and could very well go about doing away with as many of the 'lessers' as they see them. And there are ways that they can make their deaths seem legitimate enough for them to literally get away with murder. It really is sad that the Ministry thinks that it will eliminate the Pureblood's prejudices by making them intermarry with muggleborns.

I personally did not really care from what 'stock' anyone was breed from. All that matters to me was the power that they had behind them. My father tried to … instill… the Pureblood philosophy into my head and succeeded for a short time. But I soon learned that some of the most powerful people I knew were of a 'lesser' breeding than myself. Even Dumbledore was a half blood. I have come to learn that I am one of a rare exception with the power that I can wield. It had gotten more common than not, for there to be diminished magics, squibs and alike form such inbreeding in most Pureblood families.

Don't worry Hermione, I love you no matter who your parents were, or your lack of magical heritage. My father may be turning over in his grave, but I care little beyond the fact that he is in his grave and that that is where he remains. I can not say that I would have petitioned for your hand if it were not for the Ministry's law, but it would not be on the basis of your heritage. It would have been more on the basis and bias, that you and Dumbledore's spirit, memory, whatever, broke through the night before I did petition. I still don't believe that I deserve the love and happiness that you have brought into my life, and I still believe that you deserve and could have gotten yourself a husband who is better than me. I will however not look a gift horse in the mouth as it is, and I shall certainly enjoy the privileges that marriages brings, while showing you how grateful I am to have you as my wife.

I don't want you to ever worry about the fact that our marriage has and will mess up hundreds of year of careful breeding by my ancestors. Actually I want you to be proud of it. I think that it is about time that some new blood got introduced into the family. Besides there are far more important things to worry about, such as the fact that we are both Heads of House for opposing Houses, and Phoenix Keepers nonetheless. A Slytherin Gryffindor marriage will certainly be something to put down in the annals of history. I know for one am interested to see how it will work out." He leaned down and kissed her tenderly and possessively. "I just hope that you won't cause me too much trouble." He chuckled in her ear.

"Only if you promise the same." She sighed. "And that you won't keep tacking off points from the Gryffindors for things like breathing too hard."

"I don't do that…"

"Often." She told him. "You forgot the disclaimer to that statement."

"Well I have to counteract the fact you add points so easily."

"Hump. Silly, silly man." She laughed. "Oh well, I wouldn't have you any other way. All that I ask is that you are kind to my students on a regular basis. It is just cheating otherwise."

"Slytherin, that's what I am." Severus smirked and then began to earnestly kiss her, straying from her lips to travel along her jaw. The he descended farther as he helped her to shift her weight so that she was once again sitting in his lap with her legs resting over his and around his waist. Hermione was letting her hands stray along the front of his clothing again, opening his shirt as she went.

"Aren't you glad you sat on the floor now?" Hermione half gasped, half giggled as he laid her out on the floor and leaned close over her as he methodically released her from her clothes.

"You talk too much." He smirked and caught her lips in a heated kiss. "I guess I will have to find a way to keep you quiet wife." He purred as he kissed his way down her chest. "Will this work?" He asked as he paid special attention to one side of her chest. "I guess not." He commented as she gasped for air at his ministrations. "Perhaps this." He switched sides as his hands managed to rid her of the rest of her clothing. Her hands found their way to the front of his pants and released him from the confines of his trousers, causing him to gasp.

"I love you so much Hermione." He gasped in her ear as he kissed her neck. "I will never tire of you. I will always desire you and I will always do whatever I can to keep you and our future family safe." He lowered himself over her and they connected, both reaching their ends together, so that they both fell to the carpeted floor together in each others arms to doze in front of the lab fireplace on the carpet.

They would pack and move to Severus' ancestral home the next day. Back up in their chambers Fawkes and Emerald settled beside one another on Fawkes' stand, waiting for their companions to make a reappearance, though they would have to wait a good long while before Severus and Hermione left the secluded confines of the lab.

**A/N: well I hope you all liked the chapter, there was some things in his past that I had to address for things to move ahead. Thanks to everyone that reviewed, I just love to hear what you think. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, it is in the works, but still needs to be ironed, don't know how long it will take with classes and all and the motherboard is acting up so the internet is spotty at best, but I will update as soon as I get the next chapter all finished. Drop me a line or two to tell me what you think, until later Dragons Quill**


	5. Ministry Archives

**A/N: hey everybody, it seems that I was able to get the next chapter out to you all in good time yeah, but I can't promise about the next one, that is still in the works. Anyways, on to the next chapter!**

Chapter 5

_Ministry Archives _

Earlier in the year that the Ministry decided to pass the folly that was the Marriage Law, Draco had been assigned his largest job to date. This was the task of cleaning the entirety of the little used lower levels in the Ministry building. Draco did not know if he should be happy for this development or if he should be insulted. He had been taken out for the offices on the upper floors where he had been learning at least some important and interesting things, to being sent into the bowels of the building where daylight would never and probably had never shown. The only exception to that rule would be during the creation of each of the rooms or the sub floors, but seeing as it was a magical building it was even unlikely that that was the case. He suspected that some of the sub levels and rooms had been completely constructed with magic, no actual shovels or baskets of dirt handled by anyone.

Draco was actually surprised to find out about some of these sub floors, having never heard of some of the uses of some of the rooms. This was mainly due to the fact that most of the rooms were storage for different types of magical artifacts and things that may or may not pertain to up to date magical teachings, philosophies and quite a bit of the history of magic. Because of the infrequent use of the things in most of the rooms there really was no reason to regularly clean the rooms, but there was a need to go through about every ten years, clean them and then to reset the anti dusk and long lasting stay clean charms. It just so happened that it was Draco's 'lucky' day when the decades' cleaning was to occur. In order to keep him busy for as long as possible and to keep him out of their hair, the Ministry assigned Draco the task of cleaning the sub floors, all of the sub floors, all by himself.

This was not a totally horrible thing in Draco's eyes though. He had heard rumors among the upper floors about at least one of the sub floors being the archives. He was not what you would call a particularly studious person by any stretch of the imagination. But he did see the potential for having all the information he could ever want on any subject lay out at his fingertips, and there was no Restricted Section like there was at the Hogwarts Library. If you knew about the book and wanted it, you could get it with very little problems. Even if you didn't know the book, but knew where to look, you could find it.

He figured that not only could the answer to helping his father regain his life might lie in this deep dark forgotten archive, but perhaps even a way to do away with Severus and get Hermione for himself. And maybe even in one shot as well as finding a way to bring back his father that had not been found before. But then again that was just too much for him to hope for. You can't have your cake and eat it too, although sometimes it comes exceedingly close. And if it accomplished his goals in the end he did not really care about that as much as he probably should have.

There was also the added bonus that he was working alone. Normally he would have complained at least under his breath about being the only one on such a large task. But being the only one gave him freedom to look at and browse the books that he wanted. He would not have to account to anyone about what books he chose to read in depth or those he chose to skip over. He chose to use it as a windfall opportunity.

The Ministry Archives were stored in the deepest, darkest, most forgotten part of the Ministry Building, the very bottom sub floor. It was a huge room with rows upon rows of books housed on shelves reaching to the ceiling. If there was ever a Wizarding book published by anyone on any subject there was a copy of it here, even if the original book and all of its known copies were destroyed or lost. It had been a decree back when the printing of books for sale had begun. It was a way to make sure that there would always a copy somewhere for scholars to read if they chose to find out. The best and worst part about it was the fact that mot people did not know about the Ministry's Archives. He had only actually confirmed its existence when he got a copy of all the rooms and floors to be cleaned.

He had first begun by scouting the layout of the immense room that could have easily fit the entire Hogwarts Quiddutch pitch inside it, at least once, if not twice, though the sheer size and scale was nearly impossible to account for due to the dwarfing presence of the floor to ceiling book cases.

Deciding that he would first have to rid the place of the residents that had taken up house, mainly for his own comfort, he set out with wand in hand to eradicate anything that moved. He felt an unspeakably better when he had chased down and annihilated the last spider in the place. He swore that they were self multiplying and for everyone he squashed three more took its place. It had taken him nearly a week to free the place of the zillion spiders that had taken over the cavernous room in the last ten years. He was just thankful they were all of the small variety and not the monstrosities that infested the Forbidden Forest. He was not afraid of spiders per-say, but when they out weighed him he began to worry.

Once he had successfully evicted the spiders he set to the task of refreshing the anti dust charms on each and every individual book, scroll and text in the place. He was able to also apply a charm that made each book that had been refreshed glow lightly. This allowed him to see at a glance what was and what wasn't done. This also gave him a chance to pick up, handle and flip through every book in the place. That would give him a chance to perhaps find something that would help him save his father from his current fate. He also set it to himself to catalog every book he came across and paste the list of books on each end of the book case. This would help show him what he had done and what he had not, but it also would help him in his research if he felt that there was something important he had already looked through.

Draco had figured out how to get his own copy of some of the books that he might come across. There was a sign on the door to the floor that clearly stated that the books were on the floor for strictly archival purposes only. The books were charmed so that they could not leave the floor, but there could be copies made of the books using a duplication charm. It also stated that said duplication charm would not be a permanent thing. It would only last until the next cleaning of the floor, so about ten years, give or take the Ministry's strictness at cleanliness of the lower levels. That was just fine with Draco. It was long enough to suite his purposes and all the evidence cleaned itself up, it was a Slytherin plan if there ever was one.

The only other obstacle was also quickly over come was how to smuggle the copies out of the Ministry. He had thought about how to accomplish such at task throughout his spider evicting times when it came to him. He would get himself another bag like they had in the family's Swiss vault. It would completely mask and diffuse any magical signature that may or may not be carried by the book, as well as keep them hidden. He could duplicate the books, shrink them and then put them all in the specially made bag. Then he could even shrink the bag to fit in his pocket. He could also smuggle it out in the garbage. The Ministry was notorious for being lax about things that occurred within its own walls, but extremely strict about what went on outside of its walls. Draco figured that he would take advantage of this flaw in the Ministry's 'iron clad' armor just like any good self respecting Slytherin should and would do.

**A/N: ok, well, I hope you all liked the chapter and it will shed some light on what Draco is up to. The next chapter will be another Draco. I will be getting back to Severus and Hermione after that. I know there was some question about how what Draco is doing will affect Hermione and Severus, but never fear, I know how it will work and there will be quite a few fireworks when it does occur, but that is later on in the fic. Until then I intend on having some fun with all parties involved.. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I have it outlined, sort of, I just have a bunch of projects that are due in the next week or two so that will definitely put a damper on the whole 'free time' concept ick, real life can really suck when it infringes on stuff I enjoy. I must as always mention my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit who helped iron out the 'crunchy' bits of the chapter. Oh well, hope you all enjoy the chapter, please review, I just love to hear what you think and it certainly helps get the chapters written faster when I hear what you all think. it may sound sad, but when I get mail from it makes my day… yes before you ask or comment, I don't lead a very exciting life. sigh, oh well. hope you all liked the chapter and will review. I'll post as fast as I can find time to write- Dragon's Quill **


	6. First Clues

**A/N: hey guys, I am soooo sorry it took so long to update, I was even wondering if I fell off the face of the planet. I have been having issues with the computer, it isn't totally the motherboard yeah! Well that isn't the main cause of issues, but it is contributing, but over all, life is good and I have more reliable internet, even if it is only for another week when I move out of the dorms, but you really don't want to hear about than now do you? no, didn't think so, so onto the much awaited next chapter!**

Chapter 6

_First clues_

**A/N: I would like to mention that the idea of where muggleborns get their magic came from another fic, I can't remember which one and I am 99% sure that it is on my favorites list, I know it was something that Severus told Draco. I would love to give credit whoever wrote that story, I just don't remember which story it was from. **

It had been nearly a week into the cleaning and maintenance of the Ministry's Archives that inspiration and knowledge quite literally feel on to Draco's head. He had been climbing a ladder to get to the shelves closer to the ceiling, about ten feet from the floor. He somehow had skidded his foot on the slippery rungs and managed to send a shock wave of distressing and actual physical movement through the ladder and up the shelves. At about this time, a book that had not been touched in nearly two hundred years, with the exception of cleaning came crashing down off the shelves to thwack him squarely on the forehead and then fall on the floor, open to a random page. Picking himself off the floor next to the book with a pained groan, he glanced down at the page.

_Origins of the Dementor_

_The Dementor is one of the more powerful and frightening of the created creatures and certainly from the darkest past. Unlike many of the other created creatures listed, this is one of the few that continue to exist long past their creators, their life span usually dependent upon the magical and physical strength from the individual they originate. The first recorded occurrence of a Dementor like creature was reported in 1542 by Carnecious Marcell. _

_During Marcell's time there was a great drive to find the origin and placement within the body of magical ability. This was the same time that the great debate about allowing Muggleborns into the magical society. It was at this time that the idea of Purebloodism was created. It was believed that only those who were of magical families should be allowed into the magical community, while those of muggle or even by some accounts, half blood decent were to be excluded. The flip side of the argument pertained to the fact that it was astonishing that the muggles, with no magical ability were able to produce offspring with magical abilities, many times equal or greater strength than those of an all magical background. The fact that magic was 'created' from nothing was seen both as a gift and a threat. From this split in opinion came those who asked deeper questions that pertained to the nature of the question not what the answer should or should not be._

_The great debate that escalated was over where the magic resided within a person. Was the magic residing in their flesh and bones, or did it reside somewhere else? And if the 'seat of magic' in a person was somewhere other than their physical body, where was this somewhere else? Was it the soul? Where did the soul actually reside within a person anyways? _

_So, being a powerful wizard in his day Carnecious Marcell made it his life's work to answer that very question. He hypothesized that the magic lay with the soul, or some other area within the biology of the person to make them who they were. He felt that the fact that dead bodies were in no way magical, as well as his comparisons of magical and muggle bodies, he determined them to be the same. This still left quite a few unanswered questions. In the interest of finding an answer Marcell made the decision, however unethical or misguided, to see what would happen if the soul of a magical individual was removed. He wondered if it would render this person a muggle._

_Marcell's research took him about ten years to make a break through. He was able to isolate the seat of magical power within a person. He found that the magical ability resided within the central nervous system of the individual. This meant that the main source of magical abilities was concentrated within the brain and spinal cord of the individual. He was able to work this out by observing those in St. Mungo's that were on their deathbed, observing the fading of their magical signature as they passed. After he figured out where the magical ability resided he went about to soon create spells in which to separate the magical personality from the individual. Coupled with the removal spell he was also endeavoring to find a way to rejoin the magical ability of the person that he was going to remove it from. _

_It was another ten years before Marcell was able to get a satisfactory equation, words and wand movements that he believed that he should go ahead and experiment. The first person that he attempted his new spell on was a criminal from Azkaban. His first trail ended with the inmate's death. The spell used on him, later came to be known as the Killing Curse and an Unforgivable. After studying the result and then revising his pronunciation, and a few of his wand movements he was able to successfully remove the criminal's soul from his body._

_The criminal first displayed what is now known as the first stages of being a Dementor. It is usually a vacant expression, lack of eating or much if any comprehension of anything around them. They are aware of their surroundings and are drawn to people who are being affected by strong emotions, or would be if they were allowed to wonder among the populace. As of 1590 those who had been Kissed or the Spell preformed were quarantined in one of the lower levels of the Ministry building, with special precautions, physical and magical barriers blocking them away from the general public. Those who have been Kissed can also be housed in the presence of Dementors due to the fact that they are turning into them, they are no longer affected by their powers._

_It is during the first year that a to-be-Dementor can be killed. It is usually done by way of the Killing Curse. This is the only way that a Dementor-to-be can be killed as it completely finishes the job that was started either by the spell or the Kiss. Dementors will 'naturally' expire once a few criteria are met. One way to cause them to expire is to sequester them away from everyone and everything for (exact numbers are a bit sketchy) about 900 years. Without any emotions or souls to feed on they eventually wither away and finally fully expire. The second criteria and also the main way that Dementors expire is the fact that magical energies that are within the body of the individual Kissed or affected by the spell are fully exhausted. This is the ability of the residual magic and tiny splinter of soul that is left finally expires. This expiration can be extended by the ingestion of other souls by way of the Kiss, but it can only extend it for a relatively short time. The length of time it takes for the Dementor is dependent upon mostly the magical strength of the individual Kissed. If the individual's magic was relatively weak, such as a squib, the resulting Dementor might only last 50 to 100 years, while a really strong wizard may last anywhere from 600 – 1200 years or even longer if the individual is strong and they are fed souls a few times in their 'lifetime'._

_The soul that was removed from an individual that was Kissed or affected by the spell was condensed and crystallized as it was removed from the body. These crystals range in size usually about equal to the individual's personal power or will. These crystals have been known to range form a deep burnt almost black color to a clouded, milky white, as well as reds, blues, oranges, purples and alike. Most of these crystals are a few millimeters in diameter and of an irregular circular or egg like shape. The few who have found these crystals beyond the holding pen at the Ministry building, have reported that these crystals seem heavier than they should be for their size and in the correct lighting, seem as if there is movement within the crystal itself. Most of the crystals can be found littering the floor of the holding pens for the Dementors. _

_Marcell took copious notes on both the creation, results which were later published in a book called __**The Seat of Magic, a Journey to Discover the Origins and Placement of Magical Abilities within the Wizarding Physique and Psyche**__. This book was later repressed from the public by the Ministry because of the dark nature of the work that he did to get his results. He also was able to come up with a Potion that could reunite or reconstitute, if you will, the soul of the person who was Kissed with their body. This would allow the person to return to the living world reunited with their body. He was only able to test the Potion once as it ended up involving a powerful human sacrifice to complete due to the rotting, decaying nature of the original body as the person slipped farther and farther into Dementor-hood. As this experiment was also Ministry sanctioned he was allowed to conduct it without any repercussions of taking another human life._

_His initial results were promising and the re-souled Dementor returned to his human self. The results of the experiment proved promising enough in the beginning, with the person coming back to look and act as they had before, but reports after this are sketchy as Marcell did not take any more notes after one year after the experiment and seemed to disappear from the scientific community after that. It is unclear if it was by choice or by fear for his life. It is believed that he died a few years after the experiment was completed, but there were no actual confirmed reports of his death at the time or since. _

_Currently Demetors are no longer made by the spell that Marcell created, but exclusively by individuals being Kissed. The equation for the spell and all specific knowledge concerning the wand movements have been destroyed by the Ministry in…_

At this point Draco stopped reading and glanced around him almost suspiciously. He was sure that he was all alone, but with such a discovery and powerful information in his hand he felt that he could not be too careful. This may very well be the answer to save his father and maybe, just maybe, defeat Severus as well. Draco was not the most creative of individuals, but he was certainly sadistic enough to think of some very interesting and painful manners of revenge. Casting a duplication spell on the book he shrunk a copy and placed it onto the bag he kept in his pocket and returned **The Encyclopedia of Created Creatures and Their Histories Throughout to the Ages** back in it's place. Looking around he went in search of the book of notes referenced in the book he had copied. He knew that if he could find the book that it could very well contain all the information he would need to 'resurrect' his father and then exact his revenge on Severus.

**A/N: ok I hope you all liked this chapter, I know it sounded rather textbookish, and well that was sort of the point, as it is a text he was reading. I know that there will be at least one person to ask what this has to do with Severus and Hermione, well, never fear that will come later in the fic. The Draco and the Severus and Hermione plots will be running separate but parallel for a while until Draco has his revenge set in place. Then they will converge with some rather celebratory fireworks worthy of any large event. That will be near the end although the plots will touch in a few places before things go boom. Draco needed to find this text and the text it references before he can move ahead with his plans for revenge. **

**I must as always thank the wonderful and always helpful Skydancinghobbit for her views and excellent betaing skills, without her I would certainly butcher not only the characters but anyone's sensibilities concerning the English language… the sad part it that it is my only language and can't beg the horrid spelling off as whim. Sigh… oh well, can't have everything in life, can you? **

**The next chapter will hopefully be up before Christmas, I have plans for it to be a longer chapter. there is also the issue that I am moving back home out of the dorms and in early January in an apartment at my internship. There isn't any internet that I know of and I will have to find a library with wi-fi or something. I will hopefully be able to get on once a week. So never fear, updates will be coming slower than they have been, but I will not abandon the story, it is my baby and what kind of a mother would I be if I abandoned my baby without notice to all the others that are interested in my baby's growth. So even though the updates will slow up, they won't stop. **

**I would love to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, I just love hearing what you think of my fics. I know that I am encouraged when I read the reviews and I certainly helps the creative juices flow freely. It always also brightens my day when I see a review reply alert in my mail box, it is the light of my day and certainly makes me more eager to write more faster. Even when someone leaves a flame it at least gives me something to chew on and hopefully makes me a better writer from constructive criticism. Hope to post again soon, thanks for all your support, enjoy your time in fan fic land- Dragons Quill**


	7. The House of Snape

**A/N/ hey every body I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas or whatever holiday it is that you celebrate! I know I had a wonderful day and got to see my family. Well I have one more present for you all! I have a chapter for you, a very long chapter at that! It got longer and longer but it would not be broken up, so here is my Christmas present to you all! Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter 7

_The House of Snape_

**A/N: in case you haven't noticed, just like I am not JK Rowling, I am also not Jane Austen and as such, I'm certainly as broke today as I was yesterday on account of this story.**

The second morning of their marriage was much less dramatic than the first. Severus, despite being rather distracted by another body so close, had enough sense of mind to wandlessly close the curtains before they fell into bed. Severus woke up first, still unfamiliar with the sensation of Hermione's soft warm skin against his chest and beneath his hand. He casted a wandless spell in the direction of the curtains, allowing a measured amount of light into the room, just enough to see clearly, but not enough to blind him.

He looked down at Hermione and he could not help but smile as he gently brushed the errant curls away from her face and ran his hand lightly over her shoulder. He never believed that he would have deserved her or the love that she had brought to his life; but he was certainly beginning to believe that he was more worthy of her love than he had felt a few days before. Her eye lids fluttered open as he sat up and she rolled onto her back to look up at him over her. She graced him with a beautiful although sleepy smile as she blinked and then stretched in a very feline manner and arched against him with a yawn. Severus couldn't help himself and stole a kiss as she settled back to the mattress.

"I really would never have pegged you for such a closet romantic Severus." She sighed with a smile as he looked intensely down at her, his face shadowed in the twilight of the room, but she could see his eyes glittering at her intensely. "I will certainly say that I am not unhappy with such a discovery. I don't believe that anyone has ever looked at me the intense love and loyalty that you have gifted me with." She ran her hand up his arm that had been resting on her stomach and then cupped his face in her hand. "I am so glad that you are my husband." He could feel his chest tighten with love for her, leaning down he kissed her passionately again.

"To be anything but intense would be against my very nature, and I have loved you for sometime and to be able to show you how much is a joy. You have been one of the few to see me as I am and for who I am and have not been repulsed. You have been loyal to me far farther than many and you have been my friend when I had none. I have also never had someone who was willing to be involved with me and that I desired. Even if I had someone I had been interested in during the rise of Voldemort I would have never been able to show anyone anything, but the cold exterior for everyone's safety." He said sadly.

"Well, thanks to the efforts you made during the War, you are now free to express as much or as little emotion as you please. I am most happy, that at least with me, you are showing some of the more intense and quite comforting of emotions."

"I do believe that I must also employ quite a bit of my intensity towards you for other reasons beyond my love for you. I must always be on my toes with you I believe." He smirked at her. "I have the Slytherin's rival Head of House in my bed, which certainly demands a certain level of intensity and attention to detail, as well as a bit of extra spice to my life I'm sure."

Hermione had the good graces not to laugh immediately at this statement although he could see the mirth in her eyes. He bent and landed a well placed kiss along her throat and then pulled away after a quick nibble. "We should get an early start." He told her after kissing her. "I want you to see the grounds and at least part of the house before nightfall, besides there is at least one room that I specifically want to get to know intimately before we go to sleep." He sat up more in bed surveying her as she took him in with her eyes and gave her a rather suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows and a slightly feral grin.

"You are Slytherin to the core." She told him with a light laugh, "and I would have you no other way." She sat up and wrapped her arms around his back and rested her chin on his shoulder. "I suppose I will just have to find a way to charm the snake, care to join me for a shower? I would certainly not be opposed to the company."

"You believe that you can charm me, the Head of a den of vipers? You lioness have much to learn and are in much need of taming." He told her and fingered her wedding ring that sat against his chest. She couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"I read someplace that there are some woman who are not meant to be tamed, but are to continue to run wild until they find someone who will run with them." (**This came from the bumper sticker application on facebook, don't know where they got it**) She told him holding his hand in her own and fingering his wedding band in response. "I believe that I have found someone who can keep up with me and my wild ways."

"Only if you can keep up with the imagination of a highly creative Slytherin." He chuckled. "But as for joining you in the shower I will have to decline. I have to get some last minute packing done as do you before we can head out. I would like to leave as soon after breakfast as we can. You can pack what you need while I am in the shower. I suspect that it would be more time consuming if we were to take our shower together." He removed her arms from around him and got out of bed, summoning his deep green silk bathrobe from the wardrobe. Hermione watched him with appreciation and a touch of longing. "Don't pout." He said lifting an eyebrow looking at her face as he tied the front shut.

"But how will I wash my back?" She asked him taking another approach and trying to look innocent… and failing quite miserably.

He fought to keep a straight face somehow managing to respond with a raised eyebrow. "You managed before hand and so did I. I am quite sure that you will manage this time as well." He told her.

"Ok fine." She huffed throwing the blanket back and getting out of bed. "But you can't blame me for trying." She stretched again, taking more time than was really necessary in doing so, watching as he shifted the front of the bathrobe so it was closed tighter.

"I really don't want to have to wait for you to get out of the shower." He grumbled noncommittally. He looked ever so slightly uncomfortable as he clutched the front of his robe closed and stood forward a bit to let the part that hung loose over his waist do so.

"Is there a problem?" She asked as innocently as she could muster while still being totally naked.

"No." He said a bit harshly, a slight groan behind his words. "Just go take a shower before I loose all will power." He ordered, pointing forcefully at the door.

"The offer is still open." She said sauntering over to the door and going most of the way through to the bathroom. "I thought I would at least make it clear that you are free to join me in the shower any day of the week." She wiggled her eyebrows and with a large smile.

"When did the bookish Transfigurations Professor become such a temptress?" He managed to grumble, although he still eyed what he could see of her through the door with appreciation. "I am sure that you could not learn such a thing in a book."

"I also have an active imagination and a quick learning curve." She grinned like the cat that had the canary for an afternoon snack. "How did you ever keep your hands off me before if you can't keep your hands off me now? But probably it has something to do with the fact that you have seen me naked." She laughed. "Besides, I didn't try to apply my charms before hand. I figured that it would make me look like some harlot or that you would not see me in such a manner, but just on friend terms. But you're my husband now; I am allowed to throw myself at you. You're the only man I would throw myself at anyways; I know that you will always catch me."

"You're right, I would let no harm come to you if it was within my power to prevent it. As for resisting your charms, I told myself a long time ago that I was not worthy of what you have given me. You have obviously changed my view of things and I have decided that I will now make up for lost time. But not right now, I want to get to the house before dark, and as much as I would genuinely like to join you for a shower, I can assure you, that if I do, we will likely not be getting to the grounds before dark. But rest assured, you have not escaped my sight or my clutches dear wife."

"Good." She said. "I suppose I shall just have to find a way to wash my own back." She smiled and was lost from his sight around the door jam.

Severus couldn't help but chuckle as he shifted his bathrobe closed a bit uncomfortably. It had been a true test to his power of self control where Hermione was concerned not to go with her and spend an undetermined amount of time in the shower. But he really did want to get everything moved and to show her a good deal of the grounds before night fell. They had both packed a good deal of the things they were taking with them the day before, but he still had a few things that needed to be packed that he did not trust the house elves to do. They had informed Minerva of their plans the day before and she had given her blessings, reminding them both that their lesson plans and syllabi had to be turned in or Flooed within three weeks before school started and they would have to move in sometime in the week before the students returned.

He had also set about sending instructions to his own house elves at the house as well as ordering breakfast by Floo to the kitchens and having Winky orchestrate Prince and Lucy being ready for them to go when they got out of the castle. When Hermione finally came from the shower he was settling his two large trunks by the door ready to be shrunk down and put into a robe pocket.

"The shower is all yours… for now." Hermione smiled as she came out of the bedroom, a towel wrapped around her and her hair hanging down in wet ringlets down her back.

"Good." He turned to look at her, letting his eyes rove over her curves. "I have sent for breakfast, it should be here any minute now. Get dressed and we can eat as soon as I get out. Have your trunks by the door when I get out too, the horses will be ready and waiting by the entrance when we are done." Hermione nodded and disappeared back into the bedroom presumably to change. With a final flick of his wand Severus put his second trunk beside the door. As he walked into the room he saw as Hermione was leaning over one of her trunks still wrapped in a towel. Walking up to her as she stood up, he ran his hands along her shoulders, shifting her hair off to one side. "I see you found a way to wash your back." He teased and laid a kiss on her shoulder.

"It would seem I managed." She sighed.

"Good, I don't want to find any dirt anywhere in my explorations later." He smirked against her neck; he gave her one more kiss and then was gone into the shower himself.

Severus took very little time in the shower and Hermione was just finishing the last of her packing and was also levitating her two trunks to sit beside his when he came out of the bedroom dressed in black slacks and his white old fashioned under shirt, only this one buttoned down the front. He had his black frock coat thrown over one arm as he walked out of the bedroom buttoning his shirt. Two plates of food had just appeared on the table between the chairs in front of the fireplace. Sitting down they quickly ate their breakfast with very little fanfare or talking as they were both hungrier than they had expected.

When they had eaten Severus turned his attention to the trunks, shrinking them each down to about the size of a paperback book. Since they were not going to be wearing their robes over their clothes a satchel was produced and the trunks loaded into it and slung over Severus' shoulder. They had arranged with the castle house elves to keep the rooms fresh and clean until they returned, as well as getting the Floo in their chambers connected with the main Floo of Snape Manor. Hermione was very excited to be able to see what her new home was going to look like as well as the personal guided tour that it seemed she was going to get. Once Severus was satisfied that all the wards had been set properly and were all of a proper level of paranoia, I mean power, they were free to head up to the Main Entrance and to the main door with Emerald and Fawkes flying along behind them.

Fawkes and Emerald had also thought it wise to look forward to the change of scenery. They would each travel in Severus' apparation wake when he took the horses and Hermione to the edge of the property. The Phoenix could not apparate on their own, but when their companion apparated, leaving their Phoenix behind, the Phoenix can follow within a few minutes of their Keeper. This was due to the Phoenix's ability to bend, distort or amplify magics surrounding them to their own will and end. The birds themselves are also strongly innately magical and possessed a great many things they can do independently, but usually were more powerful or at least more influential when coupled with the power and control of a Keeper.

Severus had not left their chambers without buttoning up his black frock coat, insisting that he be dignified while walking through the halls of the school. He had at least left the billowing teaching robes in the wardrobe to be retrieved upon their return to teach classes again. He did not want to meet any of the other teachers in what he felt was a half naked state, even if he was fully covered. His propriety would not allow it, at least not outside of the chambers he shared with Hermione.

In his chambers it was indeed a whole other story. He had now taken to sleeping naked, something he had never considered doing before he married Hermione. But even now, only after two nights with her in his arms he did not know how he'd get a good night's sleep without the warmth of her soft skin nestled against the planes of his own. He felt that such a concession as was sleeping in nothing but what he was born was meant strictly for their chambers, or now his house as well, not the hallways of the school, empty as it was.

They reached the main doors without meeting anyone, Hermione guessed because it was still early. There was also the fact that most people had moved out or were in the process off moving out the day before and would likely still be in bed or having breakfast in their rooms like they had. Emerald and Fawkes would meet them at the door with the gates of the grounds to follow in Severus' wake. Walking beside Severus in the Main Entrance Hall Hermione was struck with a great wave of contented silence and peace that made her smile as she surveyed the surroundings, pausing in the center of the hall.

"Now you know why I can't wait until the school year is over." Severus commented to her, looking back when he noticed she had paused. "The school goes into a contented slumber for the summer. It was my only source of peace for a long time, that is why I have always found it such an agitation when people come and interrupt my time of peace during the summer."

"I am sorry that last year wasn't the quiet restoration that you looked forward to." She told him softly. "I guess it was selfish of me to worm in on your summer and expect you to help like I did."

"Hermione." He told her, reaching out his hand for her to take. "I said that it _was_ my only way of relaxation I had." He drew her in beside him and then wrapped his arm around her, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "Helping you and having you near last summer was rest and restoration in and of itself. You need not concern yourself with worries that you destroyed my summers. Instead of sitting in my lonely labs and gathering the shards of my broken soul to meet the next year of teaching dunderheads, you spent something like two years helping me gather the broken pieces of my soul and have been somehow helping me to put them back together so that I am whole once again. I do not know how to express how grateful I am to you. Come, I want to show you your new house and the grounds, by the end of the day I am sure that I will be able to find some way to express my feelings."

"Lead on then." She sighed. "I would love to see our new home." Severus smiled and then they went out of the front doors to find that Winky was standing at the bottom with both Prince and Lucy tacked and ready to go at the bottom of the stairs.

"I thought we were going to have to go and get them." She commented.

"I told you I wanted to leave post haste." He chuckled. "I figured that this would help that along. I seem to be impatient when I can show you something I hope you will like. You can ride on Prince, he is yours after all."

Hermione took the reins from Winky with a smile and Severus took Lucy's, throwing the satchel behind the cantle and spelling it in place before returning his wand to his belt and swinging up into the saddle. He nudged Lucy into a canter and headed off towards the front gates. Surprised Hermione did not immediately follow, but Prince quickly caught up the distance with Hermione laughing behind. Severus made it to the gates first and sat just outside them waiting for her when she arrived.

"Took you long enough." He commented with a sigh of long suffering.

"That's not fair!" She laughed. "You had a head start."

Severus merely smirked and then dismounted, closing the gates and rewarding them as usual, letting her laughter be a balm for his soul. Looking up he motioned for Fawkes to join them. "Come along Fawkes, I will be leaving now. Hermione you just stay here and will be back for Prince and then you in a few minutes." She nodded and watched as he drew a towel from his satchel and tied it around Lucy's face so that she could not see. Then he wrapped his arms around her neck, holding the horse as close as he could and then was gone with a thunderous crack. Before the echo of his apparation had faded, Fawkes gave a mournful cry and flew at the place where Severus and Lucy had stood. He began to have a bit of a golden glow around him and then with a much softer pop he was also gone, following in Severus' wake.

She did not have to wait too long before Severus appeared before her again, it had been perhaps only ten minutes. He opened his eyes and looked around to reorient himself and then walked over with the same towel in hand. Hermione dismounted and Severus did the same as he had with Lucy.

"Wait here." He told her. "I will be back for you shortly." He then apparated away with another thunderous crack.

"Aren't you going to follow?" Hermione asked Emerald who was still sitting on a tree branch beside the road.

"_No." _Emerald told her in her mind. _"I will be following in your wake when you go with him. It is quite a distance to separate a Keeper and a Phoenix."_

"But Fawkes is at the estate and Severus will be here, what about that?" She asked.

"He will be close enough for the few minutes it takes to transfer you to the estate. It is something that he can tolerate, I have just recently gotten here, and I would rather not loose contact for very long."

It was another ten minutes before Severus reappeared in front of her looking just a bit wind tussled. "Come on." He said with a great sigh, opening his arms up to her.

"Are you going to be ok?" She asked as she stepped into his arms and wrapped herself around him. "You look sort of tired."

"It has just been a long time since I have had to do so many sidealong apparations." He told her. "I will be glad when we can travel by Floo, or you can do a sidealong with one of the horses. There was a reason that the players all let the younger men transfer the horses, it is a lot of work to do."

"You're still a young man." She told him.

"I'm nearly twice your age." He reminded her. "I could almost be your father."

"Such an age difference is not that great in the Wizarding world, we all live longer than regular muggles. Besides I love you and nothing is going to change that."

"And for that I am grateful." He said and leaned down to catch her in a passionate kiss. "I love you too, more than I could ever hope to express. Let's go, Prince will likely be getting antsy. Hold on." He tightened his grip around her even more and with a crack of energy they were gone.

Hermione opened her eyes a few moments later as she heard as much as felt a light rumble in Severus' chest against her cheek. Looking up at him questioningly she looked in the direction he was looking. They were standing in what looked like a small woodland thicket with grass that looked deer mowed to be about six inches. In the middle of the clearing was what appeared to be a wroth iron tying rail that was about six feet long, appearing to be very out of place in the peaceful woodland setting. Tied to the rail was Prince standing bare back with Fawkes sitting contentedly in about the middle of his back with Prince twisted around looking at Fawkes intently, reaching out to seemingly sniff at him as Fawkes looked at him intelligently. Hermione was quite sure that they were communicating somehow.

From somewhere beside and behind them there was another pop similar to apparation and Hermione saw a sliver and green streak appear over head and materialize into Emerald who flew over to sit a few feet away from Prince looking rather ruffled. She did not even acknowledge Severus or Hermione, but set to trying to put her feathers to rights again. She was obviously not out of Prince's reach as he took his attention from Fawkes and stretched out his nose to sniff at Emerald who didn't notice until he was merely inches away. In surprise she fluffed up and spread her wings with a rather undignified squawk, Prince snatched his nose back, but did not relent and reached back out to sniff her again. She seemed to resettle and look intelligently back at Prince. Hermione could have sworn that they were also 'talking'.

After a few moments of watching the birds and the horse communicate it dawned on Hermione that there was only one horse, Lucy was nowhere to be seen. And along those lines as well, Prince was bareback. When Severus had apparated away, he had been saddled; all he had now was a bridle. Looking questioningly up at Severus she saw a smile in his eyes at her questioning gaze.

"Where is Lucy?" She asked him. "Why is Prince unsaddled? And further more, where exactly are we?"

"We are at the edge of my family lands." He told her reaching up to slide a piece of her hair behind her ear and cup her cheek. "This is the main apparation point of the property, at least to the outside world. No one can apparate from the outside directly onto the property. They all must come here first, and then for those in the family, which now will include you, once you leave this glade in the correct direction, you can apparate on the grounds themselves. All the guests will have to walk or be sent for on the grounds as their signatures will not be part of the exceptions for apparating on the grounds. You will not be able to yet, I will have to change the wards here as well, like I did back in our chambers at school, but once I do you will have free range. I won't have a chance to change the wards for a day or two, so you will have to be confined to the house and immediate garden areas so that you don't get lost.

Don't pout, I say that only for your protection, we may not own as much land as my family once did, but we still own a sizable chunk, a large portion of which is forested. Much like the forest on Hogwarts' lands the woods that are on the property is one of the last few magically wild places left in England. Because of this, there are things better left unknown or at least better left unmeet, especially if you are not allowed to apparate to safety yet. Besides I am quite sure that there will be plenty for you to explore within the house and immediate grounds for the first couple days before I can change the wards. I want you to be safe.

The immediate grounds and gardens as well as the apparation point and basically anywhere you see that has been kept up, such as the lawn mowed or the road kept in good condition, is protected from the magical wild things. In the case of the roads they are proximal wards; so that when there is anyone on the road the wards are activated so that there is assured that there will be nothing within a certain distance of them on the road. For the grounds there are wards that keep the wild things at bay more permanently, though twice a year, at mid summer and mid winter the wards are naturally weaker and things can come onto the property proper, but will be driven back at the ends of those days. Those days are good to stay inside or on the case of midsummer, stay near the bond fire at night. The house and barns are protected more strongly and with different wards to keep the wild things at bay during those times when the more ancient and broad reaching spells rejuvenate themselves.

As for Lucy, she has been taken to the stable along with Prince's saddle. Our things will be taken care of and put away by the time we make it to the house later tonight. I will be giving you a guided tour of some of the grounds today."

"And who will be taking care of our things?" She asked suspiciously. "Do you own house elves?"

"Yes, We own house elves, I believe that there are twelve or fifteen, I have not had a chance to count them all lately. But I can assure you that we will know within the next day or two as there will be a short ceremony to also install you as the Misteress of the manor.

Yes, before you make any comment I know about SPEW and no, you can't set our house elves free please. Their family lines have been with my family line since practically the beginning of time and there are no more loyal servants than these elves. They are treated well, at least by me, I can not insure that they have always been treated kindly by my father before me; but I can assure you that I have almost always treated the house elves with respect. They have in fact been on occasion, very valuable help and aids in my lab when I was working on some of my more delicate Potions I could not do alone. I can assure you that they are looking forward to meeting you. The house elf that came to take Lucy to the barn could barely contain his eagerness to meet the Misteress of the manor. They also know of the Marriage Law and seem to be most eager for us to begin fulfilling it. It has been a long time since they have had any child to nurture."

"How wealthy are you, we?" She asked him. "I know that you come from an old family but twelve or fifteen house elves? Isn't that a bit excessive? I mean even the Malfoys only had at most five, I talked to Dobby once and he told me. I can not exactly say that I agree with the thought of having essentially slaves, I have come to accept it as part of the Wizarding world. I had to give up when it became far too clear that neither the wizards who own house elves and the house elves themselves do not want the system to change. I can say that I am not happy about the arrangement, but I can't do much of anything to change the minds of people or creatures that don't want to change their minds."

"Thank you for at least not trying to make me set our house elves free; it would be something that would definitely hurt them as well as the manor as a whole. They do such a wonderful job and I have always thought highly of house elves. They did a large portion of the mechanics of raising me, keeping me fed and clothes to wear. I at least have held the family lines that live on the manor lands in good and friendly regard.

As for how much money we have, well, we have enough. The lands and mansion are worth a great deal, but that is not really wealth that can be spent easily. That is in contrast to what the Malfoys had, which was a much smaller piece of property and a significantly larger bank account. Most of the wealth of my family is real estate. We have a sizable bank account, but it has far less in it than it once had. A great deal was spent during my father's and grandfather's time, helping to support the rise of the Dark Lord." Hermione could feel him shudder in her embrace as he still held her close as if they were going to apparate again. "I was to follow in their footsteps, and I did, though it was Lucius that really got me into the whole bit of serving the Dark Lord. You know a good deal of the rest of the story about that portion of my life and I would rather not talk about it any more for a good long time for obvious reasons.

This estate is bigger than the Malfoys's was, so my family has always demanded a higher place in Wizarding society than the Malfoys. We also had a more strict breeding policy, so to speak, and that for a while helped increase our standing. But we had money to back up what we wanted and land for things to happen on as well if we needed a place for something to occur. Currently the family Gringgots account is growing again, thanks not only to my Order of Merlin payment, but to the residuals and royalties that I am still receiving from the sale of a few of my Potions. Most of my money from teaching is also in the bank accounts as Gringgots. I have for a long time had no one and no reason to spend much more than a bare minimum to exist. So I can assure you, we don't have the disposable income that the Malfoys used to have and liked to throw around, but we certainly have a quite a bit of value and money in our land and in our home. I have plenty enough to provide comfortably for you as well as for as many children as you desire, including the six that the Ministry decrees that we have. We may not be swimming in money, but I can assure you that you will not be left wanting."

"That is certainly good to know." She smiled and reached up to brush his own dark locks out of his eyes where he let them fall. She could see that he also wanted her approval of her new station in the Wizarding world. "So I suppose Jane was correct." She smiled up at him.

"Jane?" He asked confused by her assessment of the situation.

"Yes, Jane Austen," she chuckled. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife. And it appears that you have gotten just that."

"You know perfectly well that if that were true than I would have been married to someone else long ago." He told her.

"You make a valid point I suppose." She grinned mischievously. "Perhaps your fortune was not large enough for others to put up with your great and evil bat of the dungeons routine. Or perhaps you are loosing your touch; the whole dungeon bat thing doesn't work on me any more. But I do believe that it had something to do with you sitting in the well lit library for a summer and didn't melt away. Or perhaps it was in fact the time where I not only invaded your dungeon lair and found it to be free of shackles and scary things, but also the invitation of breakfast after I had univitedly used your chest as a pillow on your couch for a night. But whatever the case I can certainly assure you that it is not your fortune that drew me to you, but the heart that I found underneath." She reached up and placed a soft and heartfelt kiss on his lips.

Pulling away reluctantly she turned her attention back to Prince who now stood with both Emerald and Fawkes on his back, all three of them looking as if they were waiting for them to finish. "Now you have talked so much about our home, but we have yet to move beyond the apparation point, and how is this going to work with only Prince? Are you going to lead him around all day?" She asked him with a grin. "I know I am certainly not going to go strolling along after that little speech about what is in the forest until after the wards have been changed."

"I didn't expect you to." He told her, drawing away and leading her towards Prince. Looking at Fawkes and Emerald he addressed them briefly. "You can go to the house now; we should be along before dark. Fawkes you know where your stand is, it should be big enough for both of you for now. I will make it bigger when I get back to the house." Fawkes gave a melodic thrill and hopped into the sky hovering for a moment so that Emerald could catch up and then they were gone, sloping off beyond the little disk of sky above them in the clearing. "Now," he told Hermione, untying Prince and alighting onto his back. "You will ride with me; I figured that it would be something… nice." He seemed to struggle with the last word, unsure of the actual word to use.

"A closet romantic if I ever saw one." She giggled and reached out her hand to have him help her up. She was surprised as he shifted back so that she could sit in front of him on Prince. "Yes, a closet romantic indeed." She sighed as he wrapped one arm around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I told you that you would not be getting away as easily as you did this morning with your solo shower." He breathed into her ear. "Besides it is also practical and much more comfortable for you to be in front. I can keep my eye on you and you make a delightful buffer between me and the horse's natural deterrent for men ridding bare back."

At this Hermione could not help but laugh heartily. "Slytherin to the core, always having that alerter motive, withers were certainly not a deterrent a few days ago." She pointed out.

"But I had something more important to think about." He told her laying a soft kiss on her neck. "But now that I have a choice of a saddle pommel or the soft curves of my wife between me and the dreaded withers of a horse, I know which I will certainly choose." He tightened his hold on her waist. Beneath them Prince tugged on the reins impatiently, obviously tired of standing around. "Ok," he chuckled. "Let's go." He squeezed his legs together and pointed Prince towards what appeared to be a small deer path leading from the clearing and into the forest.

Severus took Hermione on the well kept paths and portions of the forests near the house showing her the ornamental streams and waterfalls as well as the rolling lawns. Around noon time he aimed Prince up the main approach to the house, a wide white gravel thoroughfare that was wide enough for a horse drawn carriage to travel comfortably.

Hermione's first impression of the house was of an ancientness that went with the building. It was built of stone and stood four stories high with large windows set into imposing stone sills. It was built of striking grey granite that had a few sparklings of quartz in it. The sills of the windows were of light almost cream color granite, similar in color to the large expansive and sweeping steps up to a pair of imposing dark oak doors that looked like they had hung in their frames from the beginnings of time. The doors were bound in wroth iron and two giant knockers were mounted, one on each door, each a large cobra coiled against the door with their hoods extended with a great big wroth iron ring hung in their open mouths behind their large fangs. Each had two large glittering emeralds for eyes seeming to peer at anyone who dared knock.

"Are you coming?" Severus chuckled startling her out of her awestruck silence, she hadn't even noticed that he had slipped to the ground and was looking up at her with mirth in his eyes.

"Oh, yes, I'm coming." She stammered and slipped off of Prince, still gazing up at the imposing façade and impressive craftsmanship of the whole place. "This is the house?" She asked in a small voice, almost as if she could not believe what she was seeing before her very eyes.

"Yes." He told her with a laugh, "this is where I grew up and this is where I hope that our children will have better memories than I have of the place." He told her this with a bit of a sad inflection in his voice.

"We will make our own good memories to block out the bad." She assured him, pulling him down for a passionate kiss.

"That is what I hoped you would say." He sighed next to her ear. "Come let me show you the dinning room, the elves will have likely out done themselves. They have not had anyone to cook for in quite some time. I ordered them to keep it simple, but knowing the nature of house elves they will have gone all out even when I told them not to."

"But what about Prince? He just won't stand here." She pointed out.

"Ah yes, nearly forgot. Lola." He called out and snapped his fingers.

"Yes Master Snape! What can Lola do for you?!" A small house elf asked appearing at Severus' feet, looking both excited and lovingly up at him, she was dressed in a green tea towel bearing the Snape family crest.

"Please take Prince here to the stables and make sure that he is cared for like his companion." Severus told her, then after a moment of glancing back between Hermione and Lola, who was gazing up at her with a questioning, yet nearly reverent gaze. "This is Hermione, she is my wife, she is the new Misteress of the Manor. You will follow her orders as you would mine." He told her.

"I am honored to be at your service!" Lola squeaked excitedly bowing so low as to nearly crash her head onto the ground. "It is exciting to have a Misteress of the Manor again! It is good to see Master Snape happy again!" She kept bowing and Hermione suspected that she would have kissed her shoes had she allowed it.

"Thank you Lola." Severus told her in a voice that was dismissive.

"Yes Master Snape!" She squeaked and headed towards Prince.

"Oh!" Hermione called after her. "Warn the other house elves that he sometimes has a thing against male house elves, and anything else that is male as well. Tell the others who will take care of him that if they are male that they should watch out."

"Yes Misteress, Lola will do that Misteress Snape!" Lola bobbed low again being almost knocked over by Prince as he reached his nose out to give her a good sniff and then a little nuzzling push with his nose. She then led Prince away presumably towards the stables

"Humm… Misteress Snape." Hermione sighed. "I am still getting used to the thought. I can't exactly say that I still think of myself as Hermione Granger, because I would certainly not be sleeping with my snarky Potions Professor if I was, but Hermione Snape sounds so foreign to me. Although I can definitely say that it has its benefits, such as having you for a husband, who loves me and who makes love to me as if I am a goddess, not to mention that you are possibly the most powerful wizard alive. There is no one else who has it quite as good as I, I believe."

"I would guess that it will take awhile, it has only been nearly three days since you changed your name. I would not expect that it would be immediate that you would recognize your new name when others say it. I know when I first started teaching it took me some time before I recognized myself as a Professor. That title was someone else's, not mine, but you will get used to it as time goes on.

I know that marriage to you also certainly has its advantages, as you liked to say. I have the love of the most intelligent and powerful witch of the age. Who is also one of the most gorgeous women alive as well as who is the Head of my rival house and can say my name in more octaves and ways than I knew existed. Your love has been the most powerful balm for my broken soul and I can certainly say you have helped pump my ego, what more could I ever ask for?

As for now Lady Snape I request your presence in the dinning room for our noon day meal." He purred in her ear guiding her up the stairs to the front doors and into the house. "Then perhaps I can help you get better aquatinted with your new name."

"I would certainly like that." She smiled up at him.

He lead her up the steps and into a large entrance way was of a warm cream color and a deep rich colored wooden floor that looked freshly polished. Across the entrance way that was perhaps ten feet by ten feet was a large stone fireplace that dominated the wall with an enormous set of elk antlers over the mantle. Hanging from the ceiling was a large crystal chandler. Light poured in from two small windows set in the archway above the doors. Showing her the mat for the shoes he took his own off and then lead her into a richly adorned dinning room that could have sat some where between twenty five and thirty comfortably where there were two places set at the far end of the table. The room was bathed in light from the two great windows that stood at one end of the room and could be lit from above with two large ornate crystal chandlers.

Lunch was perhaps a bit over the top for fried chicken and potato salad with bread and cheese paired with a delightful wine. But Hermione could not complain and chuckled as Severus pointed out the house elves extra strive to please. She learned that the first floor was mainly meant for entertaining visitors, with the large dinning room they now sat in and an expansive ball room that ran the length of the house that was accessed by taking a right instead of a left when entering the door. There were also the kitchens which were sizable as well as a small parlor for entertaining smaller gatherings. Near the door to the kitchens was an entrance down to the basement where an extensive lab system was set up as well as a root cellar and pantry for the kitchens above. Much to her delight Hermione found out that three quarters of the second floor was devoted to the library that had accumulated over many generations with remainder being the Master bed and bathroom. The third floor had guest and family rooms, whichever came first, and the top floor was the attic where the clutter of generations seemed to accumulate.

They spent the rest of the afternoon in the house, Severus amusing himself with his wife's enthusiasm. Needless to say they did not get beyond the second floor with the lure of the library too strong for Hermione to resist. After the first few minutes of watching her roam the isles of books he merely picked himself out a tome he had not read in a while and settled himself in front of the fire crackling merrily in the hearth at one end of the room. There were two wing back chairs and with a few modifications a comfortable couch between them, small tables at both ends. Down the middle of the library were two long tables with candle stands so that research could be done. There was a wide perch set up beside the hearth, obviously a place where Fawkes and Emerald could perch; it seemed that there was another perch somewhere in the house that they were currently occupying. Hermione eventually came back to settle on the couch beside him a small pile of books to set in front of the couch within easy reach.

"I have already told the house elves they are forbidden to serve you food in the library, the exception being when you are helping me with research." He commented as she snuggled in beside him to read. "I would like to see you come out of the library once in a while."

"I have to leave to find a bathroom sometime." She commented nonchalantly with a straight face, beginning to flip through the first of the books she had brought.

"You will need a shower sometime as well, I'm sure." He commented catching the fact she was joking. "Besides." He said with a grin, setting his book aside after marking the page. He then took the book gently from her hands, marked her page, giving her a light kiss as he did so. "I would much rather make love to my wife in our bed than in the library." He kissed her deeply again. "Come with me and I will acquaint you with our sleeping arrangements and then perhaps I can take you up on that offer of a shower." He took her hand and led her across the hall to the Master bedroom suite.

Some time later as they lay in each others arms Severus spoke to her quietly. "I wish you could fly, there are some splendid views of the grounds from the air."

"But I can." She told him. "I am a falcon."

**A/N: well I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter, I know it was interesting to write. I must as always thank my long suffering beta Skydancinghobbit who put up with me through this whole monster of a chapter. **

**I don't know when I will be able to post the next chapter, I have some editing on it to do. I will likely post again before the new year, but only if the weather holds. While you wait you can read some of my other fics. Yes I know a shameless little advertisement for myself but it seems that no one has read Failure to Bake, and I thought it was quite fun to write. Oh well, until I can post again, enjoy reading fanfic- Dragons Quill**


	8. Minions Unite

**A/N: Hi all, pant (dragging beta unwillingly along, watch out for scratch marks on the floor), I am back again with another chapter, **_**"oh come on. I promise, no more 8000 word chapters" "promise?" "Yes, Skydancinghobbit, I promise… for now."**_** I am so happy that there were those that reviewed for the last chapter. I am so glad that they liked it. I know I am now bribing the beta with chocolate **_**" yum!"**_** to beta again, almost as bad as the time I mentioned the spiders, grin, oh well. Hope you like my next offering to you all.**

_Chapter 8_

Minions unite!

Prince had not anticipated that his summer would get any more exciting than it already had when he had been called upon to drive off a small herd of bachelor stallions in pursuit of Hermione before he conceded to the herd stallion Severus. He had assumed that his life would go back to the way it was before when the four of them, including Lucy would roam the castle grounds and into the forest for the summer.

About a week after he had conceded to Severus he was lead away from his stall by Winky the bug eyed turnip and waited by the castle doors, which was something he considered to not be out of the ordinary. What was strange though was the fact that Severus lead the herd to the gates of the grounds and then through them. Then he was surprised when after covering Lucy's eyes he disappeared with a huge crack of sound and energy, followed by a secondary crack of energy when a strange looking bird nearly fell out of the tree overhead and also disappeared. He recognized slightly the disappearing of Severus as similar to what the bug eyed turnips that took care of him could do, but it startled him that it could also affect Lucy in some way as well.

Soon and with another crack of energy Severus returned before him and advanced on him. He knew something was going on, but did not really think much about it until it was too late and his eyes were covered. He felt as someone wrapped their arms around his neck and with a feeling of being wrenched from his own shoes he was hurtled through space to land with a jolt as his hooves hit turf again and felt as grass brushed his cannon bones. Still effectively blinded he could do nothing, but stand at uneasy attention as he heard Severus speak softly too him, soothing him before the towel was removed. With a startled snort he tossed his head surveying the landscape around him uncertainly. It was a completely different place than he had ever seen. He rolled his eyes in fear and uncertainty, but Severus' calming voice continued to wash over him and he calmed down enough to be lead to a rail in the center of the clearing.

Soon after another bug eyed turnip appeared as seemed normal for them, appearing apparently out of thin air. He was unsaddled and the bug eyed turnip disappeared with it. Severus then stepped away from him and with another crack was gone from the clearing. Looking around again he noticed a large red and gold bird sitting a few feet away from him on the rail, looking back at him with an intelligent eye. Reaching out his nose he sniffed.

"I recognize that smell." He nickered softly, almost to himself.

"Really?" The bird said back, whether it was in his mind or out loud he was not sure. But the part about it that astonished Prince was the fact that it was something he could understand and it seemed that this other creature would be inelegant enough to converse with, at least to some degree. He was intelligent enough to understand some of the speech of humans, but he could in no way communicate back. (Prince has the intelligence and communication powers of perhaps a three to five year old because of the added benefits and side effects of the Phoenix tears.)

"Yes, you smell like Severus." He nickered back. "You smell like power and almost like a breath of fresh air on a hot day. You are strong, far stronger than I have ever been, or perhaps ever will be." He told the bird. "I have only ever smelt what you smell like around Severus and when I was being bottle fed by Hermione. Why do you smell like that?"

"Ah, so you are Prince." The bird chuckled. "I must say that you have turned out well. I am Fawkes. I am a Phoenix, a powerful magic creature that has bound myself to Severus and provided my tears to help you grow strong and powerful. I suspect that we are able to have this conversation in part because of my contributions to your formula bottles when you were younger. I must say that I have heard a good deal about you through various sources. You have put up quite a fight to keep everyone but Severus away from Hermione."

"He was the only one who has a power equal or greater to Hermione's. He will also be a good herd leader; he will treat her with care and respect. He is a herd leader that I could step aside and let take Hermione to be his mate, since I know that I am not capable of filling that role." Prince told Fawkes. "Why have I not met you before if you indeed had something to do with the bottles I was fed as a youngster?"

"I have been in the castle; I have had no reason to really explore the grounds. I only knew you were on the grounds last year when you met Severus for the first time. I know I certainly heard about how you protected Hermione against everyone else that you saw as a threat.

As you might already know, Hermione also has a Phoenix of her own. They were bound together a few days ago. It is likely that you will have not detected too much of a change in her smell just yet, but she will smell similar to the power that Severus exudes. We are their protectors in a manner of speaking as well."

"I do not plan on stepping down from my role as her protector, if that is what you are suggesting." Prince snorted. "I will continue to protect Hermione from other males that would try to take her from the herd, especially when Severus is not present. I know that there will be times when I am around that he is not. I will continue to be herd stallion when he is not around. What can a bird like you do to protect her from those that are unworthy?"

"I can do quite a bit." Fawkes assured him. "As well can her new Companion who is called Emerald. We are far more powerful than it seems you can see, we just don't use it very often. We can protect our Companions in ways I am sure that you could never imagine, but that is beside the point. I am not asking you to give up any of your self appointed leadership positions, but know that there are also other protectors as well. We can help and supplement each other perhaps. Besides we are with Severus and Hermione much more that you will be, due to the fact we are allowed into the house while you are not." Fawkes pointed out to him.

"You make a good point." Prince conceded, something he did not do often. "I suppose that I have little choice but to agree. Besides I recognize your smell and that there is a great deal of pure and unmarred power behind you. I suspect that as you are a Companion of Severus than you are qualified to become a protector of Severus and Hermione when I am unable."

"Good." Fawkes said and then hopped up off the rail and landed on his back to sit contentedly. "I hope you don't mind, but it is much more comfortable to sit on your back than the tie rail. The cold iron is not very pleasant under my feet."

"I suppose I can't stop you, but you are not heavy, so I shall not worry too much."

From behind them there was another crack of power and sound and Severus and Hermione appeared together in each other's arms. A few moments later there was another, smaller sound and a green streak appeared above the two that were still locked in an embrace, though they had turned too look at them while Prince and Fawkes were content to watch them back. Then Prince turned his attention back to the green streak that had materialized into another bird like Fawkes only green and silver instead of red and gold. Reaching out with his nose he almost touched the other bird before it noticed and then made quite a show of fluffing up and yelling at him.

"Hey! What do you thing your doing?!" She squawked in surprise, ruffling her feathers and unknowingly dropping a tail feather in the grass below.

"Just wanted to say hello." Prince said carefully. "I did not know you were preoccupied."

"I have to get back in order of things; yes I am a bit preoccupied. But since you have already interrupted me, what do you want?" She was a bit cross with him, but he suspected it had to do with being nearly scared out of her wits.

"I'm Prince. Who are you and why are you here?"

"I am Emerald, I am Hermione's Phoenix."

"So you are like my new friend Fawkes?" Prince asked.

"Something like that." Emerald nodded. "I have not been with Hermione quite as long as he as been with Severus though." Emerald told him. "What has my friend told you about us Phoenix?"

"Something along the lines that you are also a friend and Companion of my Misteress Hermione." He told her.

"Something like that." Emerald agreed.

"Well then I shall agree that you have a better chance of keeping her and Severus protected most of then time, when I don't see them. I will not back out of my roll as protector when I am around though." Prince told her.

"That would not be asked of you." Emerald said after a moment of thought. "Just don't attack me, that is all I ask."

"I wouldn't, you are more of the class of protector than threat." Prince reassured her. "If you want you can sit next to Fawkes."

"Thank you." Emerald said and hopped, flapped her way onto his back.

After a few minutes of silence with Prince watching as Severus and Hermione still stood almost impossibly close to each other where they had appeared. "How long are they going to stand like that?" Prince asked with a snort.

"They have been practically inseparable since they were bonded three days ago." Emerald said.

"Took them long enough." Fawkes commented with a slight chuckle. "They have been dragging their feet and misunderstanding each other for like the last four years. It has finally dawned on him that he is worthy of her love and that he is capable of giving love in return. They will be quite a strong match and their children will be powerful, woe to anyone who gets in their way." After another minute or two they finally seemed to come to the realization that they would have to move in this century and turned too look at the three of them.

"You can go to the house now; we should be along before dark. Fawkes you know where your stand is, it should be big enough for both of you for now. I will make it bigger when I get back to the house." Severus told the two Phoenix.

"Come on Emerald, I believe you will much approve of the color scheme of the house. We will see you later Prince." Fawkes called and hopped into the sky hovering for a moment so that Emerald could catch up and then they headed towards the house a distance away from the apparation point.

Prince was more than happy to carry both Hermione and Severus across different paths that Severus pointed him down, content to follow his lead until he dropped them off in front of the house and was lead to the exceedingly nice stables to be reunited with Lucy later that day.

**A/N: hope you all liked the chapter, I know I could not go without something from Prince's view. I know a few of you wanted to know how or what would happen when Prince and Fawkes meet. Well I figured there wouldn't be a big war, and I hope it lived up to some of the expectations you had about the meeting. **

**I must thank my beta Skydancinghobbit for her wonderful skills and the idea that I didn't have, now embedded somewhere in the chapter, it will certainly prove useful later in the chapter, kudos who ever can figure out what it was. Grin. **

**Don't know when I will be able to post again, I am moving next week, and I don't expect that the next chapter will be up before then. I have to do a little bit of research before I can write the next chapter, it's a Draco chapter. I also have to get inside his head again- kind of scary. Anyways, thanks for all the support you guys have given me so far and I hope to post again soon. Don't worry, I will, just it will be a while. In the mean time check out my other fics, my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit's or check out my favorites list- if you want a real laugh read Fruit Loops, it is one of my super top favorites! Until I can post again, enjoy the fanfiction around you and have a happy new year!- Dragons Quill**


	9. In Search of the Answer

**A/N: hey all! Finally! Finally! Finally! I have written a chapter, had it betaed and now I can post it! I won't blabber on here, as I am sure that you are waiting for the chapter, you will just have to endure the long author's notes at the end. Hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 9

_In Search of the Answer_

Draco sat once again before the fireplace in his home, five months after finding **The Encyclopedia of Created Creatures and Their Histories Throughout to the Ages** and six weeks after being upstaged by Prince and Severus. He had spent the time working diligently in the Ministry Archives as he had before, going through many different lines of book shelves and literally hundreds of different genres and subcategories. He was actually surprised to find how wide and varied the writings of the Wizarding World really were; although that knowledge did not particularly help him in finding what he was looking for. He had been working in the Ministry archival room or cavern was really more of an accurate term, for nearly seven months already. He had nearly given up hope of ever finding **The Seat of Magic, a Journey to Discover the Origins and Placement of Magical Abilities within the Wizarding Physique and Psyche** after learning about its existence soon after actually beginning to clean and renew the books.

He had read the encyclopedia more times than he would have liked to admit, trying to glean every bit of information from it that he could, all the time worrying that the copy in the archives of Marcell's work would have been destroyed at the same time that the spell and all off its movements and records had been destroyed in time past. He had sighed a tremendous sigh of personal relief when he found a copy of Marcell's notes and his book tucked away on the top shelf of one of the thousands of bookshelves near the back of the room. He was nearly finished with the room and would hopefully be done with the whole archival anti-dust renewal within another month. He was quite happy with that thought, being perfectly happy never to see another library of any sort ever again.

He had made himself a copy of the notes and book and had brought it home with him, eager for the day to end when he had originally found it early in the afternoon. Now he sat in front of his fireplace, once again with a sniffer of brandy in his hand, but he was far more dressed than before. First flipping through the book he found that there were not only many illustrations of what he was suppose to be doing, but interesting side notes in the margins on many of the pages. This led him to believe that he had made a copy of Marcell's original notes on the subject of not only creating, but 'resurrecting' the Dementor. The actual spell and movements for the actual creation of the Dementor were not documented, actually leaving a space in the folder's numbering that showed it lacked twelve pages in the middle, but he was not worried about it. He was actually surprised that the portion leading up to the spell had been allowed to stay as part of the folder. But then again no one had seen or thought about this particular research in hundreds of years. The Ministry's lack of attention to detail did not seem as though it was a particularly new addition to the Wizarding World's governing body. Draco was immensely happy with what he felt to be a stunning find.

The actual Potion and the procedure to brew it was laid out with what Draco thought was amazing clarity. He had flipped through a Potions book or two as he was cleaning and found that many of them were actually quite sketchy, or at least he felt that they were, in the way that they described the process of brewing. There were some common phrases and jargon that seemed the same in many of the different texted, so he had assumed that they were commonly held or accepted terms that he was unfamiliar with.

Draco actually thought that the brew he was aiming to make was actually quite simple in brewing terms, but there was still a problem. It wasn't that Draco couldn't brew the concoction; it was that he was going to have an extreme problem procuring the ingredients for the Potion. The ingredient list was riddled with Potions ingredients that were not only illegal, close to impossible to obtain, and in some cases almost suicidal to try to get, that the task set before him seemed almost impossible. Draco still not to be deterred though, he was determined that he was going to achieve what his father was incapable of, and would in turn save his father from the horrid fate of being a Dementor. With his help he would achieve Draco's second greatest wish, as well as one of the few things Draco was certain about his father's feelings before his trail (after learning of Severus' treachery against the Dark Lord), dispatching Severus.

Setting the folder aside for a time Draco sat and pondered his predicament and unique position to possibly obtain what he was going to need to brew the Potion. He, as Marcell before him were both under Ministry control. Although, he did have to admit that he was in a less than the seemingly optimal position of the Ministry sanctioned Potions experimenter. But he still knew that he was in a better position than most to gain most if not all of the ingredients he was going to need. He had access to almost any room in the Ministry, and he was sure that he could do some maneuvering with some of his coworkers or superiors to get some of the more closely guarded of the ingredients. He felt he would also have to call up on some old alliances with the family name and prestige to acquire some of the ingredients that were only sold to reputable Potions masters or Potions teachers. The ingredients that he felt would cause him the most trouble would be a single Phoenix feather and his father's soul stone.

But the one ingredient that he felt would be the biggest problem was the human body for the Potion. What made matters worse was there were specific stipulations about the body. Not just any body would do, but it had to be specifically the body of a powerful wizard who had been alive at the time directly before or as he was being added to the Potion. There were notes in the margin of the folder and a notation in the book that had mentioned trying to use the body of first a freshly dead muggle and then of a freshly dead wizard. Both had lead to failures in the Potion. Only a body that was both magical and very nearly alive when it had entered the Potion as an ingredient would do.

The actual killing of the individual was not was he was worried about though. He had killed before, but that was during the War and there had been a legitimate excuse while he was being attacked by the Order of the Phoenix and he had been let off on that account. What worried him was who he would be able to get to fulfill the position and how he would manage to keep the fact that a most likely prominent member of Wizarding society just turned up missing. He knew that that there were quite a few wizards that were powerful and yet not prominent, but he was no aware of any that he could easily lure away and then make disappear.

The other nearly impossible ingredient came with the fact he would need to isolate and then transport his father's Dementor away from the Ministry without detection. This posed a slightly less troublesome problem, but still nearly insurmountable. There were logistics that would have to be arranged and overcome before he could get closer to bringing his father back.

With a deep sigh Draco threw back the reminder of his refilled brandy and carefully hid the folder and book along with his other books procured from the Ministry's archives. He would have to ponder how to get himself an adequate 'ingredient' at a later date. He first was going to have to find some way to get and gather all of the other ingredients together first before he would worry about the final ingredients and began to brew the Potion. He had other more pressing things to worry about in the near future, mainly being forced to comply with the Ministry's Marriage Law.

**A/N: well… if that isn't creepy… I feel sorry for the girl Draco will marry. Oh well, I hope you all liked the chapter. I know it took me plenty of time to write. Honest I wanted to type it sooner, but while mind was willing, the body had other ideas and this night owl has been going to bed at unrespectabley early times. It really stinks when you settle down and get comfortable and want to write, that your eye lids get heavy and the next thing you know there is gobbldy gook and dlkfoeija'elaoif on the screen. Opening your eyes you see the 'results' of the night and five hours later than then last time you looked at the clock. You finally just close the computer put the computer aside and say fine, good night. Then you get up the next morning, clean more stalls, turn out more horses, hope that one of the horses on foal watch pop and you get another baby to play with, shower, eat and then dream about writing fanfiction before trying and then passing out to find it's one in the morning again. Yes, the internship will get me into shape I'm certain! It really is awesome but it does certainly put a damper on the whole time frame for writing fan fictions.**

**I wonder if any of you have figured out the little idea that my beta gave me. Speaking of my beta, got to send out a wondrous happy thanks to Skydancinghobbit. Finally got to actually talk to her on the phone after far too long seemingly all isolated with new people and those who don't speak too much English, (I will learn Spanish before it all ends). **

**I hope you all liked the chapter; I know it was refreshing to write it. I hope I can write more soon and then post it for you all to enjoy, once I can battle past real life and the demands of sleep. In the mean time I invite you to read through some of my other offerings or to read my beta's works, which are very good and deserve a look. I would love to hear what you all think about what I've written, I just love to hear what you think of my work. Dragons Quill**


	10. Making a House a Home

**A/N: Hey everybody I know it has taken absolutely forever to get this post up and for that I am truly sorry. I have been extremely busy with the internship and my computer crashed and I lost everything. So the half a chapter I had managed to find time to write disappeared, so I had to find time to dredge it out of my memory once again. I suggest that if there is something that any of you really want to save than you email it to yourself and keep it on the email server. It really does help and I was able to save and keep most of the things on my computer as a back up on the server. Well enough with my chatter and on to the next chapter. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me so faithfully, I am ever so grateful. **

Chapter 10

_Making a House a Home_

After Hermione's admission to being able to shift there was a moment of silence between the two of them as they each contemplated the statement the other had made. They had both just admitted to each other that they were aniamagis. True, Severus' sounded nearly as if it had been a slip of the tongue, while Hermione's had been significantly more straight forward. This though, seemed to fit in with both their personalities as well as their house traits.

"What are you and when did you learn?" Hermione asked him quietly after a few minutes.

"I am a Raven, I learned soon after I became a spy for Dumbledore. We both felt that it would be a useful skill to have in my arsenal. It certainly came in handy more times that in would like to admit in my time in service to the Order. You are currently the second person still alive that knows my secret. I would hope that it stays that way." He told her. "Minerva was the one to teach me."

"I guess I shall not ask if you are registered or not then." She commented. "I can understand why you would not want others to know about your abilities. Especially considering what you were able to do and the information you could collect for the side of Light. You needn't worry, I will not tell anyone of your ability." She told him.

"It does fit you though." She said after an almost thoughtful silence a few moments later. "A raven is a highly intelligent and pragmatic sort of bird that is seen as an omen of ill will by some, and by others seen as a good luck sign. A complex creature for a complex wizard and you are certainly a complex man Severus. I am extremely lucky to have you as my husband and for that I am grateful. There is no one else I believe who could have fit me as well as you do." She told him smiling and snuggling closer as he tightened his grip around her shoulders, reveling in the feel of her skin beside his own. "I love you so much." She told him. "I am a very lucky woman."

"And I am a very lucky wizard. I have a beautiful wife who I love and loves me back as well as we share similar abilities and powers. Being animagis is just one more layer of similarity which we can experience together. I don't think I could be much happier than I am now." He sighed, kissing her forehead as she rested her head against his neck and shoulder. Hermione smiled and cuddled closer, her eyes closing and drifting off for a nap before dinner. Severus followed her example as he let his eyes droop as the sound of her breathing and the feel of her breath on his chest lulled him to sleep.

Despite the lure of the library nearly the entirety of the house proper was investigated by Hermione within a week. She however had not conducted what she felt was a proper inventory of what the library held, nor had see seen more than the door to the labs. But the main place she knew about, but still had not conquered, and seriously questioned if she would ever be able to, was the attic.

Upon entering the attic for the first time she was struck by how much stuff had been accumulated and put in the place. She also found it to be surprisingly dusty. She knew that the house elves were notorious for making sure everything was spotless, or at least very near. But it seemed that even with the house left alone, without any humans to take care of, the house elves had been unable to attack or perhaps keep up with the deluge of dust. She was quite nearly convinced that dust had magical properties that drew it like a magnet to attics, even magical ones, no matter how much cleaning was attempted. She decided that she would make it her personal goal to empty, or at least make some sort of a dent in the attic's menagerie of things before she died. She was quite sure that it would be practically impossible to sort through it all in a lifetime as it seemed that it had taken many lifetimes and generations to build up in the attic.

Severus had spent nearly no time down in his labs in the basement yet. It had been around a week to a week and half since he had married Hermione and brought her to his childhood home to live. He had spent some time down in the labs brewing by himself new batches of common medical Potions, mainly things that would need to be stocked in a bathroom closet for the unlikely event someone got sick or caught a cold. He had also spent a good chunk of time modifying the wards to the house, the property and the boundaries of the manner so that Hermione could apparate within the general anti-apparation ward over the Snape family lands. For the most part he had spent his time being amused by his new wife's boundless curiosity and enthusiasm for her new mansion. He would follow her around for part of the day, watching as she searched each new room with a fine tooth comb, intent on learning the house's every secret. Other parts of time were spent in the library reading and catching up on a few of the Potions periodicals he had been unable to find time to read yet in his marriage.

He had not yet mentioned anything about drawing her away from her quest for knowledge of the house in regards to brewing in the basement labs. Although, this curtsey did not extend to the interruption of her investigations by more amorous ideas or suggestions; despite the numerous disruptions she was more than happy to participate in such a diversion. It was actually Hermione that was the one to bring up brewing.

"When are we going to start work on the Wolfbane Potion?" She asked him one evening about a week and a half after moving into the house.

"Well I was waiting for you to get settled in. I knew you would probably want to explore the house a bit before I begin confining you to the basement labs to slave over hot cauldrons." He smirked down at her as she leaned against him on the couch. "I am actually surprised you have not spent more time here in the library." He commented off hand. "I would have thought that you would have hunkered down in here first and become impossible to dislodge."

"Well, normally in any place I find the library or a collection of books I become immovable. But I now have a whole house to look at that is suddenly all my own. I can not possibly leave any stone unturned or drawer unopened. I have to know what is around me. The library will always be here, but the novelty of having a whole new old house is just too much of a call to resist." She told him. "I will find out all the secretes the library holds eventually, but only after I discover all the nooks and crannies of this amazing old magical house. The only other house that has been the place of residence for anyone magical for any length of time is the Weasley's and Hogwarts if you want to be specific. The house I grew up in doesn't count because my parents were muggles. It has been tremendously fun to explore such a large old magical home."

"I am glad that you are enjoying yourself." Severus smiled. "It is about time someone enjoyed living within these walls. I find myself for perhaps the first time truly happy here at my home."

"Well that is a bit sad that you had to wait all these years to find happiness here." Hermione commented. "But I am honored and happy to be part of the happiness that you feel." Kissing him gently on the lips. "I would love to begin work on the Wolfbane Potion as soon as you are ready. I would like however, some help in the attic. I have grand schemes of either cleaning out, or at least cataloguing what is up there. Besides, perhaps with some organization all the dust that seems charmed to the area will lessen." Severus looked skeptical of this.

"Why do you want to clean out the attic? It is perfectly fine the way it is. There is still room to put things if we really need to."

"I know, but we will have our own memories to put up in the attic, if we are supposed to have at least six children." She smiled. "I would like to at least see what is considered attic worthy in the magical world. Besides I know that it should be possible some how. I was able to clean out the attic of my parents home before I sold it. I am sure that it won't kill either of us if we investigate what is within the deep dark recesses of the attic."

"Remember, this is the Wizarding world. There are thing that live in attics that you will not find in the muggle world. Are you really sure you want to embark on such a… quest?" Severus asked.

"Yes, I am sure. Perhaps we can split the time between me helping you in the lab and you helping me in the attic. I am sure that we will have to find some time in there for a ride or two as well." She looked up at him with her large, expectant honey eyes and Severus could not say no, at least not right then.

"Very well, I suppose it would be interesting to see what some of my ancestors didn't want but couldn't throw away." He sighed. "You do know that you are the only person that I would let talk me into this."

"I know, and I love you too." She smile and kissed him gently again. "I'm sure that it will be fun." Severus snorted at this seeming rather unconvinced on the fun front.

The next day Severus gave Hermione a formal tour of the labs. The labs were huge by any estimation, running the entire length of the ballroom above and were easily twice as wide. Pillars were spaced evenly through out the room to hold up the house, dividing the room into different sections. There were eight large work stations set up in two rows, each within a square area between the pillars. Along one of the long walls were cabinets floor to ceiling, just as in his labs at school, full of ingredients. There were also some ancient looking books in a few of the cabinets near one end. There were two large stone sinks against the other long wall, each with two basins. There were long counters as well that were for cauldrons to be set to cool or wait to be cleaned.

Along the short wall, opposite the door, was a large stone fireplace. From here the room could be heated as well as accessed by Floo. In front of the fireplace was a large couch that appeared to be able to double as a cot with the occasion called for it. There was a large navy rug on the slate floor in front of the hearth and a pair of end tables bookended the couch. On the same wall as the staircase that lead into the labs were three other doors. One leading to the bathroom and the other leading to a well stocked closet containing cauldrons and other hardware needed to brew. A third door lead to a corridor that connected to the kitchens.

"It would appear that you have all the amenities here." Hermione commented after seeing the bathroom, couch and hall to the kitchens. "Perhaps you don't need the rest of the house, just your labs to live relatively comfortably. There is certainly more space in this one room than the entire square footage of a normal sized home. I am surprised you ever ventured forth from such a well stocked and wonderful lab."

"Why do you think I am so pale?" He commented rather dryly, pulling a cauldron from the shelves of the closet. "But duty to the dunderheads has called me out of these wonderful accommodations every year since I became Dumbledore's man."

"Well it didn't seem that the occasional ray of sunshine did you any harm." She smiled. "You certainly got a little bit of color when you were helping me train the horses." Severus merely snorted rather elegantly (Hermione thought) like a horse through his nose and they got down to work on the Wolfbane Potion.

Severus and Hermione spent much of the next few weeks splitting their time between working on the Potion and attacking the attic. They also found time to explore more of the grounds around the house on horseback and together from the air. All in all Severus found that he had, even at his most relaxed time as a bachelor, not been at such ease. He found that he could truly relax in ways he never dreamed possible and slept exceedingly well wrapped in Hermione's arms or cradling her body to his as he slumbered. He even went so far as to refrain from frowning at all hours of the day and even spared himself a smile at least once a day. He still had stress, but he found that he could handle it so much better with his witch beside him and in his bed.

On one of their attacks on the attic Hermione stumbled across what appeared to be possibly a large mirror covered in a drop cloth. Removing the cover Hermione gasped in surprise at seeing a large painting of a beautiful woman sitting demurely on a cushioned stool. Unlike most wizard paintings she did not move as Hermione gazed at her. She did not think much of it at the time, but instead carefully studied the features of the woman before her.

The woman was obviously young, perhaps in her early twenties, perhaps not much older than herself. Her skin was the white of fresh milk and she had deep midnight hair that was swept up on top of her head in a French knot with tiny slightly pink flowers placed in her hair. She wore a dress of what appeared to be peach silk in an almost Victorian style that complemented her skin tone. Gazing at her eyes she was startled to see staring back at her the same deep fathomless eyes that she had gazed into so many times as she made love with her husband. Hermione's eyes wandered to the woman's jewelry and realized that she wore the same diamond and ruby earrings and necklace that Severus had given her to wear at their wedding. Finally she let her eyes wander down to her hands as they lay folded on her lap. On the left hand's ring finger sat the same engagement and wedding band as her own. She did not have to look at the name plate to know who this was, it was Severus' mother.

"She was beautiful." She breathed as Severus came up behind her, staring at the painting with both affection and despair. "You have her coloring, her hair and her eyes." Hermione said quietly.

"She was my mother. The woman I never met." Severus said sadly, with just a hint of bitterness in his voice. "She is the reason I exist and the reason I suffered for so many years. My father loved her and hated me, because I was the one that caused her death by my birth."

"That is in no way your fault." Hermione told him, wrapping her arms around him, nestling her head to his chest. "No one can choose the time, place or parentage of their birth. Childbirth has never been easy, nor has it been without its risks. You were not at fault for coming into this world."

"Well, my father believed that I was the cause of his beloved's death and it was his opinion that mattered, not anyone else's." He told her with a distinct amount of bitterness as he held her tight, as if doing so would make himself feel less of the flood of cutting memories that had come upon him as they discussed current topics. "He made sure that I knew why it was that he did not have his wife and I did not have a mother."

"I am sorry to hear that Severus." She said quietly, catching his lips in a soft, tender kiss, gently caressing his cheek as she looked into his face. "But, don't blame yourself for something you could not change, and certainly don't wish yourself ill because of it. I know I would be lost without you. I would certainly have been without much of the happiness I have now if you were never born." She held him close, running her hand along his back as if comforting a child.

"The Wizarding world would also not be the same, certainly a much darker and more dangerous than it already is. The work that you did in service to the Order was invaluable. Without the years of effort, blood, sweat and stress you put in on the part of a world that saw you with contempt, I suspect that the world as we know it would not exist. It would most likely be controlled by Voldemort and his loyal posse rounding up those they believe to be unworthy and murdering them in cold blood. You were the weight that tipped the balance back towards the side of good. You were invaluable to the Order, and you are eternally, unequivocally invaluable to me. I don't know what I would do anymore if you suddenly disappeared. I would be lost without your love."

"I would never leave you." Severus told her sincerely, caressing her back in turn and holding her tightly, as if he was trying to fuse with her. "I love you more that I could ever express. You are mine." He placed a searing kiss on her lips which Hermione deepened until they were forced to break apart for air. Hermione laid her head against his chest and he placed he chin upon the crown of her head.

"What shall we do with this beautiful painting?" She asked quietly. "I think that it is too beautiful of a painting to be left up here in the attic."

"I have only seen this picture once, when I was young and hid up here. I do not know how I feel about having a picture of the mother I never knew." Severus told her after a moment, after gazing at the picture. "All I know about the picture is that it was done soon after my parents were married. There was one of my father as well, but I have since his death disposed of it. I know that my father moved this painting up here soon after my birth, as it was considered too painful for him to gaze upon."

"I think that we should hang it up downstairs, in the entryway. It would be a lovely picture and it would give her a place in the family that she has not had in a long time. I am sure that it would help somehow. Come to think of it though, why is she not moving? It looks as though it is a muggle painting, but I can't imagine that your Pureblood ancestors would have approved of such a thing."

"It is of magical origin." Severus assured her, holding her close, feeling her comfort and warmth. "As I understand it, magical paintings can take on a muggle appearance after they have been placed in storage, with absolutely no interactions with people or elves. It is like they go into something similar to hibernation or torpor. Once they are re-exposed to an adequate amount of interaction and talking, they will 'wake up' and be like a normal paining once again." Severus explained to her.

"Well that all depends on what you call normal. I can certainly assure you that in the muggle world, 'normal' pictures do not move one bit in their entire lifetimes." She grinned, knowing that she was playing devils advocate about normalcy, trying to lighten the mood that had hung heavy in the room since she had found the painting. "Besides I would have thought someone as intelligent as you would have already figured out by now, that there is no such thing as normal, only average."

"Insufferable Gryffindor." He huffed, nuzzling her neck affectionately. "How ever do I put up with your cheek?"

"You put up with it because you love me." She told him with a chuckle. "And because no one else would put up with your snarky dungeon bat routine. And because you value my help and insight in the lab."

"True, true." He said looking thoughtful. "But I object about the dungeon bat comment. If I were a bat I would certainly not live in a dungeon, it would be far too cold. I aim much more towards the dungeon panther; far warmer with a fur coat, as well as much more lethal with big claws and alike."

"Such big talk from such a tiny kitten." Hermione purred with a devilish grin.

"What?! Tiny kitten indeed!" He huffed, trying to sound cross, but failing and sounding more amused that he realized.

"Yes." Hermione nodded vigorously with a chasseur cat grin. "A tiny kitten with a tiny little roar."

"I will show you a roar my wayward lioness." He said with a grin and reaching out to give her a playful pinch on the rear, making Hermione jump and squeak in surprise. "I know how to roar much louder than you at any time."

Hermione cocked an eyebrow with a grin and then snapped her fingers, calling for one of the house elves. One immediately appeared bowing and scraping as usual. "Clair, please take this beautiful painting down to the main entry way and have it hung below the antlers above the fireplace." Hermione really didn't spare too much attention to the house elf as her attention had been diverted to her husband exploring the contours of her neck.

"Yes Misteress, I will Misteress!" The house elf squeaked over enthusiastically. "Clair will need some help she will. Clair will be back immediately with another to help Misteress!" The house elf then winked out.

"With that out of the way," she almost giggled. "I do believe it is important that I show you how very much I love you, and for you to prove how loud you can roar at the drop of a hat." She drew away from Severus and started sliding towards the door leading to the stairs.

"You really are a straight forward Gryffindor." Severus chuckled as he followed her towards the exit. "Whatever shall I do with you?" He reached out to try and grab her hand.

"Less talk more walk." She grinned, slipping out of the door and down the stairs before he could catch her. Severus merely growled his aroused frustration and stalked out the door to corner her, ready to extract her proof and to have her rescinding her comment about him being tiny. He was anything but tiny.

As the door closed behind him and before the house elves came to relocate her, Selena Snape's portrait blinked and a faint smile tugged at her lips. She knew her son had not had a happy childhood, though there was little she had been able to do. At least now she knew that he was happy as an adult. It seemed that he had come upon the same kind of love she had had with Severus' father. Hopefully there would be a different outcome to her childbirth, resulting in only a birth and not an accompanying death. With a soft chuckle to herself and a slight shake of her head she thought about what she had heard, her Slytherin son had married a Gryffindor and a muggle at that! What an interesting life he would lead indeed! Besides it was high time that some new blood got introduced into the family. She couldn't wait to see what their kids would be like.

**A/N: Well I hope you liked it, and that it was worth the wait. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, but do be patient; I don't have any of this written ahead like I did with the first story. So between the internship and the super cute little foals being born and running around things are a bit busy. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up in a week or two, but I know that it will be up, I will not leave this story dangling. It has become my baby and I won't leave it out in the cold. It may take a little while, but it will certainly be posted. **

**As always, I must thank my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit for putting up with me and my wild ideas, as well as helping me remember what was in the first portion of the chapter after it was lost in the giant pit of electronic failure when my hard drive died. If you get a chance, take a look at some of her work or look at some of my other fics if you have the time.**

**As an aside I write these author's notes, while sitting in the barn there is a baby swiftly approaching. Don't know what it is yet, but before the night is through there will be another baby to take care of. Yeah! Well, as I leave you with that joyous thought, I hope you enjoy the chapter and can wait patiently for the next chapter to appear, soon I hope. Live, laugh, love- Dragons Quill**


	11. View from the Outside

**A/N: hey everyone, it seems I was able to find some time to type out another chapter Yeah! Even with all the new babies around (we have had 6 in 7 days). Anyways, I am glad that you are all so patient with me, so on with the next chapter! Enjoy!**

Chapter 11

_The View from the Outside_

Severus and Hermione believed that the summer in general was relaxing, invigorating and highly enjoyable as summers went. They spent most of the hottest days and times of the day in the cooler labs and the warm nights wrapped in each other's arms. They had made some progress on the Wolfbane Potion, making it more potent than it was before, allowing Lupin to have to take it only once every two months. Despite this development and his summertime freedom from needing to drink the Potion on a monthly basis, he was still going to drink the Potion on a monthly basis when he was back at Hogwarts. Along with the highest quality ingredients for the Potion, Lupin's consumption of the Potion monthly was to continue to have the highest safety standards enforced with regards to his condition and keeping the students and staff safe during the moon's full phase.

Severus was especially happy with his newly married status. Shortly after Voldemort had disappeared and the boy that lived to annoy him survived, Severus had spent his summers locked away in his dungeon labs below the school. There he had brewed and experimented with not only the Wolfbane Potion, but also sought different remedies to some of the nastier of the Death Eater spells, hexes and Potions in his arsenal. He felt that perhaps he would be able to help someone somehow and to pay even just a small penance for all the pain and suffering he had caused during Voldemort's first reign, even though he was quite sure that Voldemort was not gone for good. He would then gather the broken shards of his battered soul at the end of the summer and put them all back behind the evil dungeon Master and Potions Professor persona he had been so carefully constructed to keep the dunderheads at bay. Then he would spend a year trying to pound the knowledge into the thick skulls of the students who did not care and were nearly always on the brink of blowing up the school.

When Voldemort returned, his summers, as well as portions of the school year were mainly centered around collecting information, staying in the Dark Lord's favor and trying to stay alive, all while still trying to pound information into the unyielding skulls of his students. Most of the time he was lucky to come back at all after displeasing Voldemort with something or another. Voldemort was extremely heavy handed when handing out his punishments to Severus when he displeased him or brought information that was not favorable. Many times Severus was lucky to come back, with little more than his will to live holding him together in mostly one piece, although Voldemort had always stopped just short of killing him, although even if it was just by a hair.

Now that Voldemort was gone for good, he had been cleared of charges that would have keep him in Azkaban, and he was now married to the woman he believed to be his perfect match, he did not believe life could get much better. He was quite sure that the students were going to be the same hard headed and unresponsive dunderheads as always, but he was at least optimistic for the first time in a long time. He knew that he would no longer have an empty, cold and damp dungeon chamber to return to, but a place where there would be life and love to come home to as well as a large bed that would be no longer empty with Hermione next to him every night. He had a better outlook in general.

This though, he promised himself, would not affect his teaching methods. He had managed to keep everyone safe so far in his career, only having a couple near death students (_surprisingly_ Neville Longbottom was not included in this, blessedly, short list) in his time as a teacher. He had also managed to keep the Potions scores on the OWLs and NEWTs high as well by keeping his curriculum advanced. He was very proud to know that Hogwarts' Potions scores when compared to other magical schools were within the top three and if he had his way, they were going to be number one.

Hermione didn't believe things could get much better either. She had gone from student to warrior to teacher to wife in less than five years. Never would she have believed anyone had they told her in her First year that she would not only participate in the killing of the most hated and feared wizard in the Wizarding world, but she would also be teaching at her own school and happily married to her much feared and widely disliked Potions professor, she would have done whatever she could to have had them committed and quickly. Now she looked back on the last five years with amazement. Someone had once told her that once she got out of school things would seem to move fast, she just didn't believe that things would go that fast. Now she had a loving husband who cherished her as well as brought up her social standing in the Wizarding world significantly.

She had always been widely known by many of her peers because of who she had managed to befriend in her First year, but in the long run, she was a muggle. She also didn't come from a muggle family with a lot of money either. She wasn't poor per say, but her family's social standing was middle class at best, a far cry from the Draco Malfoys of either the Wizarding or muggle worlds. While they could flaunt what they had by having huge houses and expensive and flashy brooms or convertibles, her family got by comfortably on her parent's incomes and could still afford a few of the flashier adornments if they planed ahead and saved up. She had now been thrust into the arena of high rollers and blood tradition. While she did not have the blood nor the skill as a high roller, she knew she could learn fast when the occasion would demand she flaunt something, but she knew she would never forget nor really abandon her middle class roots.

Besides, if she was expected to have six children, she knew that no matter how rich you were, children were still a grand expense and would require planning and monetary allotment in order to survive the ordeal. If any of her previous encounters with relatives with children she rarely saw were any indication, she felt that having children was much like going into the grocery store when hungry. You may have gone in only for the basics, milk, eggs, bread, but you end up coming out with seemingly everything else that seemed to jump off the counter and scream 'I taste good! Take me home!'- rather expensive. She was excited though to see what their children would be like, especially considering the power levels and personalities of herself and Severus.

Early in the summer Severus had finally asked the question that had been plaguing him ever since he had learned Hermione was still dabbling in Potions (she was doing quite well he had begrudgingly added at the time) while apprenticed to Minerva and teaching Transfigurations. He had wanted to know why she had decided on Transfigurations instead of any other subject and specifically, why not Potions when she was obviously so good at it. Her response seemed to surprise him for a moment until he though of the practicality of the situation. Minerva had been the first to offer an apprenticeship position in any discipline. Also seeing it as a way to not only ease back into the Wizarding world but as a way to give back to the world, as broken as it was, that she had immediately taken the job.

Severus then surprised her, offering her a full apprenticeship to become a Potions Misteress. He had decided that any improvements that were made to the Wolfbane Potion as well as any other Potions they may work on together, or create would have both their names on the Potion, not just his own. One way to help insure that she was not forgotten by the patent office was to also make her a Potions Misteress. He also knew that she would love the challenge of compressing what would usually be a long apprenticeship into two or three summers. He had already been preparing her for the roll anyways, ever since he had asked her to join him in the lab nearly a year and a half before. He was also quite sure that in making her an apprentice and then a Potions Misteress would only make her a better brewer in the long run. Now she would no longer be working only with or for him, but her competitive spirit would also add and make her work even harder, to not only prove herself to him, but to the greater Wizarding world and make a name for herself in Potions. This combination he was sure would help not only him and the Wizarding world but their relationship as well, allowing for one more level of compatible rivalry, much as the fact that they were both heads of opposing houses added to it as well. The little bit of rivalry that such situations caused, could only result in better situations, learning, teaching and alike for everyone involved. Besides it was always an interesting dinner conversation and the novelty of having the person you love also be the person you were suppose to dislike in the greater world, translated spectacularly into the bedroom, adding its own spice to the mix.

The only problem that both Hermione and Severus saw with the whole summer, as they gathered together the things they would need to take back with them to Hogwarts, was the fact that Hermione was still very much not pregnant. According to law they had to attempt procreation at least once a week. That decree had been met and exceeded with ease and enthusiasm. Only once had they come close to actually not fulfilling that duty, and that was after they had both spent nearly a week and a half pouring over notes, books and texts, knowing that they were terribly close to a breakthrough in the Wolfbane Potion, both driven to find the answer before their time for experimenting ran out. By the end of the week they were both so exhausted that they had spent more time sleeping sprawled across the two tables in the library than they did in their bed, much less within touching distance of one another. They would stay up late into the night calling to each other from behind their mountains of books with anything they thought might be of help to the other. Finally they had found some minute detail in a book that they had nearly over looked, allowing them to extend the time between dosages from one month to two.

The first night they had spent in bed together was spent with a celebratory snooze. They had both crawled into bed, and as soon as Severus had curled his hand around Hermione's waist and she had tucked her head to his chest they were both out cold. The house elves didn't have the heart to wake them and let them sleep until they woke on their own, sometime late in the afternoon of the next day. After a still rather groggy meal they endeavored to make up for lost time, narrowly avoiding the time limit where the law would have kicked in.

The first week after returning for good to the castle for the duration of the school year was spent getting reacquainted with nearly all the same people, but trying to remember their new names. Ginny was now a Potter, Tonks was now Mrs. Remus Lupin, Shannon had married Neville and Ron had even found himself a suitable wife, marrying Lavender Brown a few weeks after his failed attempt at gaining Hermione's hand. Minerva, who had been married since long before she began teaching at Hogwarts remained the same as always and seemed perfectly happy to stay that way; seeing as she and her husband had already raised six children over the years, all of which were grown with families of their own.

This first week also helped to solidify Hermione's sadness in relation to the fact that she was still not pregnant. It seemed that everyone else was, even Lavender was nearly a month along. If anything she, Ginny and Tonks should have been nearly equal in their gestation by now, seeing as they were all married on the same day. Ginny was already nearly three months along and Tonks was about two. She had smiled kindly and shook her head when the others had asked her if she had managed to get a bun in the oven yet. Severus was also feeling the pressure to get Hermione pregnant. All the other men would preen and boast about how quickly their glowing wives had fallen with child. Severus, never one to socialize anyways only managed to scowl at them and sweep out of wherever the conversation was occurring before any of them mentioned or questioned him about the fact his wife was still not pregnant. He really did not need to hear any of the comments he was sure to arise, questioning his manliness due to his inability to produce a child immediately with his wife.

Even before they had returned to the castle for classes, Hermione had been worried about the fact she had yet to become pregnant. She was worried that she may in fact be barren. She knew that it had been extremely hard for her parents to fall with child, as well as dealing with the fact that her mother had dealt with at least one miscarriage that she knew about earlier in their marriage. She knew that her parents had spent many years praying for a child. She really had been their miracle baby after such a long time of waiting. She was afraid that she would not be able to carry a child herself, or that if she was able to get pregnant that she would loose her child tragically. That was the last thing she wanted to worry about or to have happen. Even just the thought of such a thing happening to a child produced by her and Severus was almost more than she could bear. She hoped and prayed that she would soon fall with child and that she and the child would be safe. This though did only so much to assuage her fear that she was indeed barren, unable to give Severus and herself children.

Now that they were back in the castle the long flowing teaching robes came back out of the wardrobe and were seen swooshing around the castle corridors. This meant that the smiling Severus Snape, that had been so prominent during the summer months was almost immediately replaced by the strict, frowning to at least non-smiling Professor Snape with his billowing robes and sharp tongue. Hermione had actually sort of guessed that it would have happened this way. She was under no illusions believing that he would suddenly stay the same that he was at their manor home when they got back to the castle. She knew that she was perhaps the only one privy to his softer side and the smiles that he would gift her with every morning when he first saw her. His frown though, no longer seemed to reach his eyes, at least when she looked back when she knew his eyes were on her. Whenever he looked upon her, Hermione knew and could see the love that flowed, like an eddy in the shadow of a stream's bank in his eyes, still and deep.

The first week back also brought up some rather interesting encounters with her newly married friends. On more than one occasion she had run into Ron and Lavender practically groping each other in the middle of a hallway. Harry and Ginny were much more desecrate, at least endeavoring to find a more secluded spot before groping. Remus and Tonks seemed to be the only other reasonable couple, holding hands and limiting the PDA (public displays of affection) to holding hands and a quick kiss upon meeting or parting. Severus was not surprisingly to Hermione, very disinclined to having any PDA at all. He however did not treat her in a cold or uncaring manner, nor was the way Hermione had come to know him at their summer home change when they were alone together; if anything he was even more attentive than before. Actually for anyone who bothered to notice the change in him it was quite pronounced. He would always play the gentleman, pulling out her chair when she would arrive at the Head Table and moving her chair closer to his as they sat beside each other. He would also extend her his arm after the evening meal to escort her back to their chambers. He would also spend time engaging in conversation with her, more than just the pleasantries he would begrudgingly offer the younger teachers when required.

Although there was the marked difference in the withdrawn and brooding man, Hermione got an understanding of how little people did noticed that he had changed. It had been at the end of the second week of classes that what seemed like the entirety of the female staff descended upon her. She had been drinking a cup of tea in the lounge before dinner, looking through some of the first week's homework that the sixth years had handed in earlier that day. Most of the staff was present and there was a light hum of talking. Severus had then walked into the lounge and after a scowling look about the room swept to her side as she sat in one of the corners. Leaning down he spoke quietly to her.

"I will not be at dinner tonight." He told her in a low tone. "I have to finish and then deliver Lupin his Potion tonight. I will see you when I return; I will have the house elves send me down something while I wait for the Potion to cool."

"Ok, I will see you later then; I have plenty to fill my time until you return." She told him with a light frown as she indicated the stack of papers on the table beside her. "I'm sure that they will provide sufficient amusement to keep me occupied."

"That is good." He smirked. "We would not want you to be idle." He stood up and with a nod turned on his heel and swept out of the lounge.

Hermione merely shook her head with a ghost of a smile on her lips and watched him leave. She then took out her eagle feather quill and her own bottle of her husband's dreaded red ink and began to read the first paper. She managed to get through the first paragraph without much trouble, but then she noticed things had changed around her. Glancing up from the paper she nearly spilt the ink in surprise to see every single female teacher, including McGonagall herself gathered around in what appeared to be folding chairs, looking expectantly at her.

"What?" Hermione questioned, feeling very much like some small cornered prey item.

"We were just wondering how you were doing dear." McGonagall asked far too innocently for Hermione's liking.

"I am doing… well…" Hermione said. "Why?"

"We were just wondering how things between you and Severus were going." McGonagall asked in an off handed manner, but Hermione knew better as she watched the others lean ever slightly in towards her.

"Things are going well between the two of us. What is the purpose of you asking?" Hermione calmly took another drink of her tea as she watched them watch her.

"Well it occurs to… us, that he seems rather distant emotionally." Ginny said, stepping up with her Gryffindor courage and as Hermione's friend. "And it also is rather evident that you are still not pregnant. Perhaps he is neglecting his duties as a husband so… well… we thought we would lend you a shoulder to lean on… or even give you some tips as to how to get him to fulfill his duty to you."

"Yeah, there are some interesting books that could help you get him to come to you more often." Shannon blurted out immediately after Ginny had spoken, seeming to get encouragement from the sound of her voice.

These statements were made mid sip of Hermione's tea, resulting in her to not only spitting out her mouthful of tea onto everyone gathered around, but to inhale a considerable amount of what she had in her mouth at the time. Her eyes bugged out of her head and Lavender grabbed her tea cup as Tonks thumped her on the back. McGonagall took a moment to remove the tea that had rained down upon everyone and to dry everyone's clothes in the process. Once a red faced Hermione had regained her composure and she was quite sure that she would not cough up a lung she turned a critical eye on her female coworkers.

"You think what?" She managed to croak out.

"That you're husband is no attending you as he should and as a result you are still not pregnant. He doesn't seem to have changed from before and seems to be quite uncaring towards you and everyone else for that matter." Shannon said.

"This is Professor Snape we are talking about after all." Lavender said, as if it explained everything.

"Hey." Hermione said with a glare in Lavender's direction. "That's my husband you are referring to."

"We're just worried about you dear. We want to know that you are being treated well and that you are getting all the…'Engagement' that you need from Severus." Minerva said. "The way you two seem to act is nearly like an old married couple, who tolerate each other and little more."

"I can assure you that I am being treated very well thank you." Hermione told the gaggle of women all staring at her expectantly. "And as for your comment about my husband's virility, I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing wrong in that department what so ever thank you very much!" She gave all the girls a bit of an evil but wary eye. They all stared back at her without the slimmest hint of remorse. Hermione was still sitting in the corner feeling very much as if she was going to soon become one of the strange things in a jar behind her husband's desk.

The stalemate was broken a few minutes later by the sound of the clock in the Great Hall chiming, signaling that supper was soon to be served. Almost as if a spell was lifted from all the women gathered around her they all blinked and or sighed and then got up. A couple turned a worried almost pity filled glance back in her direction and then they were gone to dinner. Hermione waited a beat until they had left the lounge before she started to pack up her belongings and then summoned a house elf to transport the pile of papers and bag to the dungeon chambers. Then she made her way to dinner, promising herself that she would not think any farther on the line of thought the girls had brought up.

**A/N: ahh, isn't it lovely when your friends try to help out but still miss the point? Oh well, I might have had too much fun writing this chapter. **

**Thanks for everyone who has stuck with me, as it seems that I have been lagging at getting chapters up, but spring is a busy time of year and sleep or 'free' time is in short supply. Anyways I will have another chapter up for you in about a week. As always must commend my wonderful beta **Skydancinghobbit** for putting up with me and my crazy ideas. Go check out some of her stuff, it is really good, even if I am her beta. She has been keeping me busy with her stuff to. She has some new ones up that are quite good, or if you feel so inclined check out some of my other works; I have a couple cute one shots.**

**As always please drop me a quick line to tell me what you think of my work, it is always appreciated. Reviews of any type are always valued and certainly help encourage the creative process. Even flames help to improve what ends up being typed out on the screen. Enjoy your time in fanfic land- Dragons Quill **


	12. Phoenix Musings

**A/N: Hey all, thanks for all the wonderful reviews, I really love it when I get a response. And look! I got it posted sooner! YEAH!! Anyways, on to the chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 12

_Phoenix Musings _

Emerald looked at Fawkes with a resigned glare. "You have to be joking." She said. "There has to be another way around this. You know very well that such a great expulsion of energy will mean we will most assuredly require another Burning Day before we can nest. There is no way that we could survive doing what you suggest and still nest."

"Yes, I understand." Fawkes said. "And I have considered all the other options. I don't see that there is any other way. He has to address his fear before he can become a father. Otherwise he won't become a father.

I have investigated the reason they are unable to conceive. By normal standards they should have been able to conceive between three or four times by Hermione's schedule, but they have not. It is in no way her fault they are still without a conception. It truly lies with Severus. He may say that he wants children; he may think that he wants to have children; he may be required to have children by this new law, but deep down, somewhere inside he is too afraid. He does not want to become a father and become like his own. He did not have a good or loving upbringing and his father was abusive not only mentally, but physically as well. From what I can tell, he is afraid that he will become a monster as his father became.

Because of this fear and the fact that he is magical, he is essentially, accidentally, unintentionally on purpose, causing himself to be sterile. He will have to face this fear and conquer it before he will be able to move forward and become a father."

"There isn't even any guarantee that it will work." Emerald pointed out. "I don't know if this sort of thing has ever been done before. Is it even possible?" She asked. "I don't want to sound rather like a downer, but what if it fails. What will happen then?"

"I really don't know." Fawkes said. "I guess we will just have to see what happens in the end. If there was some other way that I knew how, than I would certainly try to do that first, but as it stands I do not see any other way.

It should in principle work, at least part of it. There is definitely a strong bond or connection between them, it may not have been a positive one, but it was still a bond. Your job though I suspect will be harder. You will have to look deeper and find and capitalize on a weaker bond. But we have to try. It is important that he faces his fear head on and soon, or we won't be able to nest at all.

Do what you can, and I will do what I can. As long as I am successful that is what matters. The part you intend to accomplish is not as essential, but still important."

"I understand." Emerald nodded. "I guess you are right. There really isn't much else we can do. I just hope that we are not going to be too out of sync by the time we return to full strength. When will we do this?" She asked him.

"We will do it tonight." Fawkes said adjusting his feathers in a final sort of way. Emerald nodded in assent.

**A/N: yeah, ok, I know, it got up quicker because it was a quick little chapter, but it was important. Besides it tells you why they haven't gotten pregnant yet. That will come in handy for the next chapter. The next chapter will be up soon I can promise you that. I can also guarantee that it will be much longer than this one as to make up for this little shorty. **

**As always I must give homage to my wonderful fan fic sis and beta, **Skydancinghobbit**, who good naturedly rolls her eyes at my overactive imagination and giggles along with me when encountering funnier things in life. Anyways, go read some of her stuff it's good, or check out some of my other offerings. As always, hope you enjoyed. Live, Laugh, Love- Dragons Quill**


	13. Dream a Little Dream

Chapter 13

**A/N: yeah! More reviews! I love it when I hear from you all! I must thank all my lovely loyal readers who have stuck with my on my intermittent hiatus status in posting, I really love you all to pieces! Anyways, I promised that this chapter would be longer than the last and as promised I have added an extra digit to the word counter- last chapter was a bit over 600 words without the notes, this one is over 6000 without the end notes.**

**Hope you enjoy and **_**please**_**, read the **_**warning**_** before you go on. Hope you like the chapter, if you choose to skip it that is ok too, most of the rest of the chapters won't need a warning, if any need it I will label appropriately. **

Chapter 13

_Dream a Little Dream_

**A/N: The views expressed about the magical abilities of muggleborns vrs. Purebloods, as before and touched in this chapter as well, originated from another fanfic. The fic is called 'It happened one Hallows Eve' by Mrs. Figg (see I finally remembered which fic and gave kudos), go check it out, I found it to be a very good fic.**

_**WARNING!**_**: there is some physical and mental domestic abuse in this chapter, no it is not between Hermione and Severus but it still affects them, you have been warned. **

Dinner had been a rather subdued affair, especially since Hermione had resolutely refused to talk to any of the female staff and responded with stiff pleasantries when their husbands arrived and tried to pry information from her. The grumble form someone that she had spent too much time around Severus did not improve her mood. Very soon after finishing her meal she excused herself and shut herself up in their shared dungeon chambers. Pointing her wand at the fireplace she stoked a good fire and settled onto the couch before the hearth, intent upon grading.

The house elf had placed it on the side table as asked. She scrawled a quick note asking for tea to be sent and threw it into the fire to go to the kitchens. A few minutes later a tray with tea and small cakes appeared on the table beside her grading, but Hermione noticed it not. She had drawn up her knees and was hugging them to her chest and was staring forlornly into the fire, her grading neglected. This is how Severus found her a few hours later as he returned from his labs and the Shrieking Shack.

She had promised herself that she would think no more on what the girls had said. They had unintentionally picked at a sore part of her life. She really truly wanted to get pregnant, to carry Severus' child, their child. She felt that, even despite the law making it a requirement, that she was ready to have a family of her own with Severus. She was so worried that it was herself that was preventing it or that there was something in her genes that was preventing her from conceiving. Although the very thought that Severus was not giving her enough attention was ludicrous, he may not flaunt their relationship in public, but that in no way meant that he was neglecting her when they are alone, and certainly not in the bedroom.

Severus came in to their chambers about eight that night. The sun had gone down and the moon was set to rise in a few hours. He was more than happy to be behind his well warded door and the thick walls of the castle. He still had not forgotten, nor really forgiven the Marauders for nearly feeding him to Lupin so many years ago. At least now when he went to encounter the werewolf it was on his terms and as an envoy of a life saving Potion. He still always felt better when he had put a large amount of space and strong wards between himself and Lupin magically contained in the Shrieking Shack.

Upon entering their chambers he noticed that none of the lights were lit, as they would have normally been, but that there was a fire blazing in the hearth. To either side of the mantle sat the Phoenix stands, each identical with Emerald and Fawkes each to their own. Fawkes appeared to be dozing while Emerald turned and intelligent eye in his direction as he closed the door, wards re-solidifying behind him. Looking at the couch he saw Hermione with her knees drawn up under her chin, looking far away into the flames, her eyes sparkling in a way that seemed to suggest unshed tears. Concern blossomed in his chest and he swept himself around the couch and settled beside her on the seat, taking her into his arms.

"Hermione my love, what is the matter?" He murmured to her as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. Hermione turned her head and started at his voice, bringing her back from wherever she had been. Dropping her feet back to the floor she buried her head in his neck, holding him back as he held her tight. She breathed deep of his scent and felt safe and protected within the great folds of his flowing black teaching robes. Giving her waist a light tug and encouraging her to shift her weight. Severus soon had her wrapped in his arms as she sat on his lap; her head nestled to his chest. He held her tight and put his nose in her hair. "What is wrong my love, I can not bare it to know you are in such distress and you haven't told me what has caused it."

"Nothing." She said hoarsely, trying to hide the unshed tears of disappointment in her voice. Her hand ran across the planes of his chest and she fingered the button below his jaw absently.

"You are a terrible liar Hermione." He told her in a lightly chastising tone, holding her tighter. "Please tell me what is bothering you." He leaned in and brushed her forehead with his lips.

"There is nothing you can do." She told him looking up at him. "The perceptions people have of others is something you can't change."

"So what is it that has you so upset? I can hardly imagine that someone accusing me of my past or being a hard teacher would put you in such a state." He countered concern still evident in his voice.

"It is hard to explain." She avoided, looking down.

"Then perhaps you would show me?" He suggested. "I promise I will be gentle."

"You're always gentle, at least when I need you to be." She said quietly with a faint smile, enjoying the feel of the fine wool fibers of his robes beneath her hands. "Fine, I guess there is really no harm." She sighed after a moment's contemplation. "I will show you, but you must promise to continue being civil to them."

"Them?" Severus asked slightly confused.

"Yes, them. You will understand when you see." She said, shifting her eyes to his. "Just be quick, I have spent too long on the thought for a long while now."

"As you wish." Severus said quietly. "_Legilimens_." He hissed looking deep into her honey eyes, Hermione pushing forward what had happened earlier.

He saw himself as he swept into the staff lounge earlier that day and then he saw himself exit. He watched and felt Hermione's emotions as she felt cornered by the other women on staff. He scowled at their lack of perception concerning his feelings towards his wife. Though he found it to be entertaining how Lavender had withered under his wife's glare after a particularly nasty comment about his person.

Once he had seen enough he carefully extracted himself from his wife's mind, looking away from her for a moment to come back to himself. Hermione blinked and shook head as if to clear away the memory and laid her head back on his shoulder, burying her face into his neck. Reaching up he gently rubbed her back in a comforting manner.

"So Hermione, what do you think?" He asked after a moment, not really indicating his feelings on the matter.

"About which part?" She mumbled a bit miserably.

"Are you getting enough 'Engagement' from your husband?" He could not hide the smirk in his voice.

Hermione picked her head up and looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. "I would think an average of five or six nights out of a week is certainly more than enough 'Engagement' for anyone." She told him. "Not that I am complaining, I certainly am more than a willing participant." She grinned mischievously at him.

"That is certainly good wife." He chuckled deep in his chest. "I would certainly hope so. So, what about the other part?" He asked. "I refuse to believe that you think I am distant."

"You are correct." She said. "I can see the love in your eyes every time you look at me and you certainly can't seem to leave me alone enough so I can get my grading done." She grinned, leaning out to look at him, her hands straying to wrap around his neck. "Not that I am complaining." She purred leaning in to kiss him.

"Good, I will certainly not take any Gryffindor cheek from you wife, even if you are my rival Head of House." He grinned accepting her kiss and returning it with one of his own. "Now what about this grading, it appears that you are plenty distractible without my interference."

Hermione shrugged. "It's Friday, I have a little bit of time before I have to hand them back."

Severus smirked and leaned back against the couch, holding her gently as she laid her head on his chest again. He was more than content to have his wife cuddled close, safe and warm on his lap. This was something he had longed for, for a long time. As he reclined it registered to him that both Emerald and Fawkes had begun to hum. The thrill soon became actual singing, as Phoenix do. Not really thinking much of it he felt his eyes grow heavy and he felt as Hermione shifted against his chest and her breathing became deeper as she fell asleep. Content with himself he let himself drift away to sleep with her as well.

Opening his eyes, Severus, in what he assumed to be a dream, was astonished to look around and recognize where he was as someplace he had been before, although there was nothing around to recognize. Below his feet was grey, unbroken polished granite and around him was bright swirling mist. Drawing his wand he once again looked what he believed to be a full revolution, although, without landmarks he was unsure.

"Hello?" He called. "Is anyone there? Hermione? Are you out there? Will someone tell me where I am?" There was no answer, just the swirling mist just out of reach. Severus had a fleeting moment of wondering if he was going to see Dumbledore again and if that were true, was he going to give him advice on how to get Hermione pregnant? Somehow that just didn't fit into the list of things he was comfortable with, nor was it in fact on a list of thoughts he even ever wanted to entertain. It was just wrong!

As before, as he spoke and called out into what seemed like an endless white abyss a black archway appeared before him, seeming almost paper thin, but still deeply substantial as well. Not knowing if he was alone, or if Hermione had also been caught up in the Phoenix song or dream or whatever this was, and not knowing anything else to do, he lit his wand and stepped into the black abyss beyond the archway denotation in the mist. The darkness stretched out in front of him for what seemed like forever, and as before there was a hunting strain of music from Fawkes that floated in the air. Although this time he could swear that the song was different than before, but if asked he couldn't say how. He followed the sound through the darkness until he came suddenly upon a door that he recognized, and it certainly was not the Headmaster's door that he had seen in his last trip to… wherever he was.

The door before him was one that he had endeavored to put out of his memories for a long time, and one he was reluctant to reach out to knock upon. The door before him was the door to what had been his father's study. It had been in the basement of the manner home he now shared with Hermione, but it was now gone. He had gone to great lengths to make sure that he would never have to enter that room again. He had remodeled the entire living area of the basement. He had taken out the walls that had separated it from what had been the labs at that time and expanded the labs to include the entire living area of the basement. He had taken the literature from the shelves and moved it to the library on the second floor of the house. He had even gone so far as to take the furniture that was in the room, and instead of dispersing it throughout the house, sold them, so as not to have to remember many of the horrible memories that went with many of the pieces or their association to his father. The pieces he could not sell, he had burned along with the portrait of his father that had hung domineeringly over the fireplace in the main entry.

Feeling decidedly uneasy and even a bit scared, Severus clutched his wand. Then, thinking better of going into the study with wand drawn and threatening, he would have it close at hand, ready if who he believed to be behind the door was. As he reached out to the door to knock it swung open on its own. He felt distinctively as if he was once again a small child before he was able to 'escape' to Hogwarts, being summoned by his father to account for something or another that had angered him. Sometimes he would be called into his study for no fault of his own, though leaving much the same way in either case. Taking a deep breath and steeling himself as he always did before he was called before Voldemort, he stepped into the room, ready to face whatever came in his direction.

Upon entering the room he saw his father, younger than he remembered, but still unquestioningly his father. He always remembered his father as a mix of two sets of memories from two different times in life. First he remembered him as he did when he was very young, too young to go to Hogwarts and one set from around the time that he graduated. Both were powerful and strong, but to Severus it was not in a good way. His father had always seemed to hate him because of the manner of his birth, resulting in the death of Severus' mother and his father's beloved wife. Severus was more than relieved to learn of his death a few years after he entered into Voldemort's service and about the time that he had abandoned him for Dumbledore's service as well. His father had been killed in one of the attacks on a muggle community; Auours had caught wind of the attack and had been waiting for the Death Eaters to arrive. Lucky Severus had managed to stay home that night, brewing the healing Potions that he knew would be needed upon the raider's return. Severus's father looked up from whatever paperwork that lay on the desktop before him, narrowing his eyes and turning a malevolent eye upon his only son and child.

"What are you doing here?" He growled dangerously. "I did not call for you, you should know better than to trespass upon my study when I have not called you before me. I shall make you pay for your insolence." Severus eyed the wand in his father's hand with a touch of fear, ironwood with a dragon heartstring. His father was undoubtedly a man of great strength, physically as well as magically, and it seemed capable of strong emotions, supposedly of love but more obviously of hate, especially for his only offspring and son.

Severus could still hear Fawkes' song in the background, but he still did not see him. Then from the fireplace there was a sound that usually accompanied someone Flooing into the hearth. But this time the flames did not change color and no person appeared. Instead Fawkes flew in from the fireplace to land on Severus's shoulder. Fawkes stopped singing and gave a cooing chirp-like sound next to his ear by way of greeting. Fawkes then turned an unsympathetic eye back on Severus' father as he sized Fawkes up.

"What is the meaning of this!?! I demand an explanation for this flagrant act of defiance and disrespect! I WANT ANSWERS NOW!" His father growled at him in a voice that was literally spiked with bristles and dripped venom.

From Severus' shoulder Fawkes nearly hissed, spreading his wings threateningly around Severus' head, bobbing his head slightly, like a large angry bird of prey and gently squeezing Severus' shoulder for support. Severus felt the weight of his father's anger, but with Fawkes on his shoulder, the affect was somewhat diminished. Turning his head slightly so as to see both Fawkes and his father at the same time Severus spoke for the first time since entering the room in a quiet tone. "Well?" He asked him rather expectantly.

"_He is your demon to exorcise."_ Fawkes told him simply. _"I am merely here as a mediator of sorts. Without me being here, this meeting, much like your meeting with Dumbledore could not have happened. Just as it was then, it is now; you already know why you are here, even if you won't admit it to yourself."_

Severus contemplated Fawkes' statement for a moment, processing the scene and all that it implied. He felt that he had a vague inclination that it might have something to do with his and Hermione's inability to conceive, but something wasn't quite working out so that he could have a solid answer that he could understand. All the while that Severus and Fawkes were conversing Severus' father was beginning to go deeper into a rage of anger. His face was beginning to redden and Severus could have sworn that he had puffed himself out much like a cobra extends its hood as a warning.

"YOU WILL GIVE ME ANSWERS!" His father bellowed like and angry bull. "AND YOU WILL DO SO _NOW_!" His father lifted his wand and pointed it at him. "Crucio" he hissed.

Hermione did not know where she was or how she had come to be there. Looking around she saw swirling bright white mist, just out of reach and a polished grey granite floor was beneath her feet.

"Hello?" She called out. "Is anyone there? Will anyone tell me where I am?" As she turned she saw as a black archway appeared beside her, hanging in and through the mist. Curious and yet still cautious, she drew her wand from her robes and stepped through the portal.

As she entered the black hallway of sorts she could hear the song of a Phoenix, haunting and soothing at the same time. Feeling the compulsion to follow it, she did and soon found herself outside a door that she did not recognize. She did though, seem to make out that it was of great age and she had the vague inclination that it should mean something to her, but it did not. From behind the door she could hear the raised voice of a man. Reaching out to touch the door, she found that to her surprise it swung open of its own will.

With a deep breath and clutching her wand she stepped through the open doorway and into what appeared to be a study or office of some sort. Before her stood her husband with Fawkes upon his shoulder, his wings spread in a threatening manner towards the man behind the desk.

The man that Fawkes was hissing at was whom Hermione believed to be Severus' father. He was about the same height as Severus and looked to be reasonably young, though currently older than her husband. He was of similar build and there was no mistaking the large nose that seemed to run in the Snape family line. She knew that Severus didn't much like his nose, but she felt that he would certainly look wrong without it, or to have his nose on someone else's face. Neither man seemed to know that she was there. She watched as Severus turned to Fawkes and they seemed to converse quietly for a moment. Severus' father obviously was not pleased by the silence. To her horror Severus's father raised his wand in Severus' direction and sent a Cruciatus Curse in her husband's direction. She bit back a cry and did not know wither to fly at his father or run to Severus' aid, in her indecision she stayed rooted to the spot.

Severus already knew what he was going to do before he even did it. His father had set that spell on him before, as well as having to endure it many times under Voldemort. Steeling himself as always, Severus braced himself for the pain.

Lucky it never came, Fawkes had squawked at the same time his father had cast the curse and somehow the effects were negated. At the same time there was another sound in the fireplace that resembled that of the Floo, but as before it was a Phoenix that flew from the hearth. This time it was Emerald who flew past Severus and his father to land on Hermione's shoulder eyeing the two men with a critical eye.

At this point both men seemed to notice Hermione's appearance in the room. Severus turned his head to follow Emerald's path and looked in shock and horror to see Hermione in the room with him. She was the last thing he wanted to have to worry about when encountering his father again. He was worried enough about his own skin, though the fact that it seemed Fawkes would not be allowing Unforgivables seemed to be only an ever so slightly encouraging sign that he would probably survive this encounter. Becoming slightly bolder as well as desiring to take his father's attention from Hermione he turned back to his father and spoke.

"It seems as though your greatest physical weapon has no more bite." Severus commented evenly. "It would appear that you, dead as you are, can not affect the living, at least not in the manner you were attempting."

"You underestimate me?" His father growled. "This is my home and I will not have you disrespecting me. Now tell me, who is this girl?"

"She is none of your concern." Severus growled, moving himself into his father's line of sight in front of Hermione. "What is important is why Fawkes feels that it is you of all people I must overcome."

"She is of my concern." His father snarled. "I can see what is upon her hand. You somehow managed to find some fool to marry your stupid, ugly, ungrateful ass? Perhaps her father will not let you out of the deal? Did you get her pregnant?"

"You will _NOT_ refer to my wife in such a manner." Severus snarled, drawing his wand and pointing it at his father threateningly. "If I knew that I would not be hunted down and imprisoned for using an Unforgivable on you, or the fact that you are already dead, then I would not hesitate to do away with you again."

"You would never make it in Azkaban anyways. You are too weak." His father spat.

"I am stronger than you know." Severus growled at him, wand still raised.

"You will show me respect Sir." Hermione said evenly, pointing her wand at her father in law and stepping out from behind Severus to stand beside him. Emerald had assumed a similar posture as Fawkes, threatening from her shoulder. "You have no right to insinuate that my husband, your son, is weak or that the only way that he could acquire me was to knock me up. I can assure you Sir that I am unfortunately, very much without child."

"Hermione you must leave." Severus told her, still not taking his eyes off his father and wand still trained on him. "Let me deal this… this… him. If something were to happen to you, I would never forgive myself."

"Oh no." Hermione said. "He is not going to get away with saying that to or about you or me without me giving him a piece of my mind. Besides I would like the opportunity to grill him over the reason he felt it necessary to abuse you while he was alive."

"So you have filled her head with lies I see." His father spat at Severus, now ignoring the fact that Hermione was present.

"He had done no such thing, _Sir_." Hermione said, the last word dripping with her own venom. "I have seen the evidence myself; he has not needed to tell me anything. I spent time during the War working as a Mediwitch. I was trained to discern the age and cause of a wound or scar. Many of the marks he carries were of an origin far older than the Wars."

"You know nothing." His father hissed at her. "How dare you speak in such a way to me?!" Pointing his wand at her he sent a forceful spell in her direction. Severus recognized the wand movements as it began and cast a defecting spell before them both. The spell reflected most of the intended affects, but some of the force still made it through, leaving a red mark across Hermione's face as if she had been slapped.

"Hermione, please leave." Severus said near her in an almost pleading tone.

"No." She said, giving her father in law the look of death. "I will not let you face this monster alone. It is time that he is put in his place. Besides, I have a strong suspicion that I will be unable to leave, seeing as the Phoenix believe that it is important that I am present. Let me fight beside you, you are no longer alone, I now walk the same path you do, and the same is true for you. I will not leave you alone."

"Very well." Severus said, still surprised by his wife's compulsion to come to his aid and stand beside him as he faced possibly his greatest fear. "I am grateful for an ally."

"How very touching." His father sneered. "You are both weak."

"You sir know nothing about strength." Hermione hissed at him, pointing her wand at his throat. She advanced menacingly at him from across the room. "I was one of the five that cast the spell to kill Voldemort for good, I am a Phoenix Keeper, I am the brightest witch of my age and I am your son's wife. I have had to endure more pain in my last year at Hogwarts alone than you would ever be able to endure. My family is dead because of Voldemort and many of my friends as well. You know nothing of strength."

Severus watched as his wife advanced upon his father with a touch of fear. He was afraid his father would lash out at her again and he would be unable to prevent it. He was surprised to see a flicker of uncertainly cross his father's face as she advanced on him and took courage. Stepping up beside Hermione he also trained his wand on his father's throat.

"I have spent nearly two years on the land, I survived nearly that long intact in Azkaban, I killed Albus Dumbledore, though I was unwilling to do so at the time, I survived betraying Voldemort for nearly twenty years all together, I am a Phoenix Keeper and I am Hermione Granger's husband. I also endured your abuse since I was old enough to walk. You should not speak to me of weakness or strength; I have more than enough strength."

"Granger?" His father hissed, completely ignoring everything else that had been said. "That is not a Pureblood name. You are not only weak, but you are a traitor as well, soiling the blood of your forefathers by allowing impure blood into the family."

"Get it right." Hermione hissed. "I am muggleborn and proud of it. It is a proven fact that magic from the muggleborns manifests more strongly than those whose magic is passed on by blood, with only a few exceptions. Only the strongest magical beings are paired with the Phoenix, helping to tip the scales of providence towards the side of the Light. Your son is more powerful and strong than you ever were."

"No I am not a traitor." Severus said. "I fight for what is right, unlike you, who chose to beat upon those you thought were weaker than yourself. When I become a father I shall never treat my children as you treated me. Just because my mother died the same time that I was born, did not give you the right to treat me as you did."

"How could you treat your own flesh and blood in such a manner?" Hermione snarled at him. "A child has no say in what happens to their parents when they are born. He had no part in your wife's death. You should have loved your wife's memory by loving your son. Instead you beat and abused her, but doing the same to her son."

Severus watched as his father seemed to wilt just slightly under Hermione's anger. He could have sworn that her hair had expanded to twice its normal size as her anger mounted and she seemed to puff out. There was not questioning what house she belonged to, she was every bit a lioness provoked. It seemed his father had met his match for a duel of words and glares. He was once again thankful that such anger was not directed at him.

As he watched and listened a thought dawned on him that took him aback for a moment; he realized that no matter how much he said he wanted children, that he still feared that Hermione might die and or he would turn out to be like his father. But Hermione had just provided the answer to calm his fears, even if it had just been said with every bit of venom she possessed dripping from the words. Finally figuring out the purpose for this… visitation… as it were he stepped to Hermione's side and placed a hand on the shoulder not occupied by Emerald, his wand still pointing at his father.

"You are a coward." He told his father. "You could not face my mother's memory and so you beat me. When I become a father, and even if the unthinkable happens and Hermione is taken from me because of a birth, I will never beat my children because of it. I am strong enough to continue to love her through our children, where as you were not. You no longer hold any sway over me or my future as a father." Severus snarled. "You will never cause me or my family harm or grief again." Pointing his wand at his father he muttered a spell that Hermione could not hear. His father was gagged then bound to the chair he sat in and his wand was broken in two before their eyes before it fell back to the desk in front of him.

Hermione looked back at him as he rested his hand on her shoulder and she saw that he had come to a doorway of knowledge and he had stepped over the threshold. She may not understand what realization that doorway had lead to, but she felt that it was perhaps the purpose of their time in the Phoenix song. She could feel a sense of peace flow through her from Severus' hand on her shoulder despite the tense and angry posture he stood in, the snarl on his face and the angry fire in his eyes. Something had changed about him and she felt that it was for the better.

"Come Hermione." Severus said. "It is now time for us to leave this place. Fawkes, Emerald, do what you will with him, but take us back home, there are things that must be attended to." Lowering his wand and putting it back into his sleeves he turned to Hermione and gathered her into his arms, his father looking on hatefully but in silence. Hermione also put away her wand and wrapped her arms around his waist. Both Phoenix flew off of their shoulders and began to circle the room, singing a strange new song as they did. "Close your eyes Hermione, and then we can go home." He whispered beside her ear. Doing as she was asked she felt as if she were being drawn along through a long drafty tunnel at a great speed by the song of the Phoenix until quite suddenly it stopped.

Opening her eyes again with a start she saw she had her head buried into her husband's chest, her arms circling his body as she sat curled against him on his lap. She felt safe and loved enfolded in the great billowing sleeves of his teaching robes. Feeling him start beneath her she looked up into his face. He had also woken up with a jump and looked down at her. Holding her tightly to him he nuzzled her neck.

"I am so sorry Hermione." He said in a slightly shaky voice. She could just feel a slight tremble begin in his arms and travel throughout his body. "So sorry."

"What ever for my love?" She asked kindly, drawing back and brushing the hair away from his face with her hand. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I am sorry that you had to endure that, but I am even sorrier that that is was it took for me to accept the idea of becoming a father. It has been I, not you that has been preventing us from having a child."

"What do you mean?" She asked in shock and surprise.

"Fawkes was right, I knew why I was there, and it took me that experience to admit it to myself. I have been so afraid that I would turn out like my father, or that you would die in labor, that somehow I have been restricting my ability to provide enough of myself to allow you to become pregnant."

"I am still a bit confused on how you have prevented me from becoming pregnant." Hermione said. "Only perhaps rabbits are more 'prolific' in engagements than ourselves. How is it that you believe it is your fault we are not pregnant?"

"I believe that my fear may have rendered me… unfruitful." He whispered.

"Hummm…" Hermione said, unsure of how to respond.

"So I believe I have come to the conclusion that I will not become like my father. He had a choice, just like I have a choice. If the unthinkable does happen, I can either blame the child for something they were unable to change. Or I can embrace the child for what it would be, a combination of myself and the one I love, keeping that memory alive through their own lives. Perhaps now we can now move forward and become parents." He told her.

"I would like that." Hermione smiled and leaned in to kiss him. "You are the strongest man I know."

"And you are my strong, beautiful, loving wife that helps me to see that every day." He told her, nibbling her neck affectionately. "Come with me and let me show you how much I love you. Perhaps tonight we shall even get lucky." He moved her off his lap to sit beside him. Then he rose and picked her up in his arms before she had time to protest and carried her through to their bed chamber, locking and warding the door strongly with a wave of his hand.

Emerald and Fawkes looked at each other from across the space of the hearth. Both looked haggard and nothing like the sleek beautiful powerful birds of prey that they had been upon their Keeper's shoulders during their 'visitation'. They both looked as if they had been caught in a tremendous whirlwind.

"Tomorrow." Emerald said. "After we have given them the instructions of how to care for us." Fawkes just simply nodded, tucking his head under a wing before falling asleep.

**A/N: so, well, now you know, I hope that it wasn't too bad for anyone. I didn't write it to be very heavy, just enough to get the point across. I hope that I was able to show that Severus' stepping up to face and ultimately defeat his father's power over him was a big step for him to take. It was something that he had been unable to do for a long time and the defense of Hermione from his father's rage was what seemed to push him over the edge. So for him the happenings in this chapter were big. I figured that I would put the warning on so that there would be no qualms by anyone if they felt offended in any way. **

**It seems that now they should hopefully get pregnant, and soon. What's that I hear? When? well I am not going to tell you when or if it happens… well at least not yet anyways. You will have to wait until I write that chapter. I know I am an absolutely evil fan fic author, but hey I have to be nice in my everyday life, I have to be allowed a little freedom somewhere… right. **

**Oh well, hope you liked the chapter. Please drop me a line to let me know how you felt about it all, I just love to hear from my readers. As always I must thank my wonderful fanfic sis and beta **Skydancinghobbit** for all her wonderful skills as a sounding board and chapter insecurities fixer upper, she really does a wonderful job. **

**I don't know when the next chapter will be published, I have a couple chapters that are both partially written, but I can't really figure out which one should go first to fit best in my timeline. So I suppose that it should only be a couple weeks (I hope!) that you will have to wait. I hope to be able to write in that length of time and then wiggle and a giggle the chapters till they all fall correctly and coherently into place. No matter what happens I can almost assure you that you will get two chapters published close together, because I will have two done at nearly the same time. Well, glad that you seemed to have stuck with me all the way down to the end. Thanks! Hope you enjoyed it so far. Live well, Laugh often, Love all – Dragons Quill **


	14. Genie' in a Bottle

**A/N: hey everyone, I know I would get this chapter up in two weeks and it has been something closer to three, sorry. But I must say that I looked at the calander and I swear that it slapped me in the face, I realized only a couple days ago that I only have two more weeks until my internship is done and two and a half before I have to give my final presentation! So that is why this chapter was a bit late in coming to you all, stupid evaluations and all that I had to send in. anyways, on to the next chapter of the story! Enjoy!**

Chapter 14

'_Genie' in a bottle_

Draco was in a decided funk. He was now a married man, and a very unhappy one at that. He had originally wanted to have Hermione as his wife. It would have provided the best form of revenge and humiliation that he could think of for the mudblood that seemed to be the favorite of all the teachers and one of the biggest obstacles he had met in his father's and his combined vision of himself being the greatest student at Hogwarts. Now she was married to one of his, currently, greatest enemies and relations, Severus Snape and he was married to some random mudblood girl that the Ministry had pressed upon him.

Although as much as Draco didn't want to admit it, there were some advantages to the marriage he was now in. His wife worked at an apothecary. Normally he would have made his new wife stay at home and work like a house elf for him and be constantly accessible when he wanted to slake his baser needs. But in this case letting her work better suited his purposes. He would now be able to get almost anything he wanted, ingredient wise, through his wife and there would be no questions asked, he would make sure of it.

With the main bulk of the ingredients he needed now easily obtainable, even some of the rare ones, Draco decided that he would turn his full attentions to the ones that were now almost impossible for him to acquire. These were his father's Dementor, his father's soul stone and a Phoenix feather. He would also be in need of a body, but he figured since he could not exactly hold someone captive without notice he would leave that to last. There was no telling how long it would take for him to acquire the rest of the almost impossible ingredients, so what was the point of holding a person against their will for an undetermined amount of time. Besides such a venture would have cost him quite a lot of cash, which he publicly didn't have. Though secretly he did have a great deal, feeding, housing and medical care to keep the ingredient in top condition was not the way that he wanted to spend a portion of his small fortune.

He had been married now for two months, since August, to a woman named Hattie Sanders, now Malfoy. She was a year younger than himself and had started at Hogwarts, but her parents had transferred her to Beauxbatons, where she finished her education after Dumbledore had been killed. Draco despised her, but not as entirely as he could have. She was a half blood, her father had been a powerful American wizard who had moved back into the country during the years before Voldemort had reappeared and married a muggle. He had evidently been working in the Ministry's Muggle department. Her father had been one of the earlier fatalities in the War.

Ever since the beginnings of the Marriage Law Draco had been trying to find ways to undermine it, and perhaps even find some way to persuade some of the higher ups that it was a bad idea. He had been unsuccessful in having the law scrapped, and so far all his efforts to get it repealed sooner than it was set to expire was not happening. The law was set to expire by the time the first set of children produced by the law became of age to marry, this meant about twenty years. That was all well and fine Draco thought, except for the one major problem of the fact that there was really no such thing as divorce in the Wizarding world. He figured that if he could get the law repealed soon enough, before perhaps even his first child was born, than he would be able to kill his wife and her inferior baby and make it all look like an accident and then he would be free to marry who else he wanted, another Pureblood.

But then again the law looked as firm as ever and very few of the higher ups in the Ministry would even entertain the idea, and those that would were so far back on the order of succession for Minister of Magic that mass murder was the only way to get what he wanted. Not that the idea hadn't crossed his mind, but he knew he would be unable to do such a thing by himself and he was exceedingly cautious about drawing any type of untoward attention to himself while he was trying to 'resurrect' his father. Perhaps after his father was back… then everything would be out in the open, so to speak.

Draco had decided that at least the Ministry had bound him to a halfblood. Then at least any resulting offspring would be of three quarters blood. With careful breeding choices, he figured that within one or two generations he could restore the Pureblood tradition to the Malfoy family name.

Despite the fact that Draco despised his wife, he still did not find any problem in using her. He had made it quite clear to her that she was not loved, but married to her because of the law. He had also made it clear that he was the man of the house and she had better follow his orders, or he would make sure that she paid for it. He was not allowed to use any of the Unforgivables or a rather (he thought) disturbingly long list of other dueling type spells, but he was creative enough with what he was allowed to make sure his point was put across. He was also not above taking matters into his own hands when and where his magic was diminished.

Draco really cared less if she liked it or not, but he found that it was handy to have someone who he could pin to the bed whenever he had the notion or needed to relieve himself. Draco also found sadistic pleasure in the certainty that despite the fact the he believed that any children out of his wife would be inferior, that he had been able to get her pregnant within the first two weeks of their marriage. The fact that he knew that Hermione was still not pregnant now almost seven months after her marriage to Severus was a bit of a point of pride for him. It seemed the old man just couldn't get it up (or so he thought).

At work Draco had managed to accomplish many things on his long lonely extended banishment to the basements. He had managed to clean most of the sublevels by this time, as many of the other sublevels were significantly smaller and less full of stuff than the archives had been. Now there remained only one sublevel to attend to, the Dementor pens. This was the level that Draco had been waiting for as well as dreading ever since he was assigned the sublevels. This would be where his father and his father's soul stone would be.

About two weeks before Halloween he was handed a special pass to pin on his robes by his boss. This was a pass to allow him onto the sublevel with the Dementor pens. Working his way through the maze of halls and elevators Draco made it to the single entry way to the Dementor pens. The entrance was on the far end of a long, stone hallway that was more of an off shoot of the building than a sublevel. The hallway went from beneath the building and to what Draco assumed was under another building up above, one without so many sublevels below it. This way there was a thick insolating area of soil between the Dementors and the people both above and around the Ministry, magical and muggle alike.

As Draco met no one on his trip to the Pens he wondered why he had a pass, or what it was for. He had met no one who he was supposed to present the pass too. He noticed as he got to the end to the long hallway that the air around him seemed to get colder and he could see bits of frost beginning to collect on the walls and floors as he continued towards the Dementor pens. What he also noticed was that while he could see his breath in the air, it did not really seem as if the air around him felt any different in temperature than what it had been when he had exited the last elevator. Briefly thinking that it was odd, he stopped at the end of the corridor, his way blocked by a spiky, frost covered, wroth iron gate, beyond the bars was a dark, uncertain sized room. Over the door hung a sign that read:

PASSES SHOULD BE WORN AT ALL TIMES. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Then in smaller type:

_The Ministry takes no responsibility for your health, soul or well being once you pass this point, you have been notified. _

Figuring this is where he would be presenting the pass and whatever magic it had embedded within it would activate whatever it was suppose to do. Pulling items from his robe's pockets the pass fell out of his pocket. Immediately he was hit by the bone freezing chill that surrounded him and he felt a sense of such profound and deep loss that he found indescribable and fell to his hands and knees in near pain. As he hit the ground with his hands he suddenly felt better and was no longer surrounded by the blood stopping cold. Catching his breath and opening his eyes he looked at the pass, lying beneath the palm of his hand and the cold icy floor. Carefully he wrapped his fingers around the outside of the card and picked it up so that he was always touching it at all times. He was still unsure of what exactly the card did, but he knew that in a broad term that it seemed to protect him from the affects of the Dementors. He had never heard of such a thing and decided that he would have to look into procuring himself such a valuable item. It would most likely not come easily or cheaply, but he definitely saw an advantage to having such an item, especially when he was going to be interacting with his father's Dementor far longer than he would actually like in the making of the Potion.

Making sure that the card was attached securely to his robes Draco withdrew his wand and pointed it at the gate before him. After a few muttered spells the door swung into the room, seeming to clank all the way open with the sound of icy metal colliding with cold stone, and protesting hinges, causing Draco to grit his teeth and shiver. Removing a handful of candles from the seemingly bottomless pockets of his robes, Draco waved his wand and caused the candles to fly from his hand and float around him, much like a swarm of fireflies on a warm summer evening. With another flick of his wand all the candles began to burn in what seemed like defiance of the blackness beyond the door and in sharp contrast to the iciness that still clung to his soul after dropping the pass. Summoning his courage and steeling his resolve he strode forward to meet what there was beyond the door.

Once he had crossed the threshold and walked a few steps into the room there was another loud clank behind him and Draco spun around to see that the door had swung shut behind him and now stood as a tangible barrier between himself and an escape. But just as it was before, there really was no escape, there was little that he could do to change the course that his life was on, either before or after his father had been reduced to his current state of being nothing more than a shell of his former self. Perhaps when his father's body was once again reunited with his soul, Draco could find another path than the one his life was currently heading, there had to be something better or at least different out there. Turning his back on the spiky, frost covered 'door' Draco decided that he might as well get what he came to do, done. He was expected to turn in the pass by the end of the day so that he could be assigned something new.

Glancing around Draco could see that he was in a rather large chamber, about the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. This room however, was not warm and inviting. The stone floor was slick, the dirty white/grey of frost covered granite and he could still see his breath, hanging an unnaturally long time in the air before him as he breathed that seemed to almost condense and fall to the floor. Draco was extremely happy that he was unable to feel the effects of the Dementors with the card pinned to his robes.

He reached into his pocket again and began to take out the tools that he had brought to accomplish the task that he had set himself. First he brought out a small sweeping broom, multiplied and then enlarged them, and then with a few well practiced flicks of his wand he sent the brooms off about the room to begin sweeping up the dust, soul stones and … the bits of Dementors that seemed to have accumulated. Draco suppressed a shudder at the thought as he watched the nearest broom making a pile of what appeared to be leg and possibly toe bones…

_CREEPY!!!_ Turning away from the disturbing sight of the bones, some seeming old and others looked disturbingly fresh, being swept into a pile Draco reached back into his pocket, pulling out a bag similar to the ones he had used to sneak the books out of the Ministry, this was where he kept all of the important things for his trip to the Pens.

He had managed in the first part of his time at the Ministry, to acquire the broken pieces of his father's wand. Normally that would have been impossible for him to have acquired such a thing, namely because well, it was his father's broken wand pieces. But he was in luck. The day that his father had been convicted and sentenced to be Kissed and his wand broken, was the day that Draco was assigned to empty all the garbage cans in and around the courtroom. Draco was extremely surprised that he had even been able to do that, seeing that it was his parents on trial. He would have assumed that they would have put him as far away as possible from the courtroom wing, but obviously along with many other instances, there had been an oversight. Draco had managed to fish out enough bits of broken wand from the garbage so that he could identify the magic within the pieces and say that it was indeed his father's. He had carefully stashed them away for possible use later, now he was going to use them to locate the items he needed in the room.

Holding the pieces of his father's wand in the palm of his hand Draco waved his own wand over the fragments and uttered the spell that had been part of Marcell's notes. 'The wand chooses the wizard' Draco remembered hearing Olivander say when he had gone to purchase his first wand, now Draco was counting on the inert qualities of the remains of his father's wand to find the wizard or in this case, his Dementor and then his soul stone. The fragment of wand began to shift in his hand, much like a needle on a compass. Draco was using the handle end of his father's wand, adorned with a striking silver snake head, it had not only been the easiest for Draco to identify, but it had also been within his father's hand every day since Draco could remember. He thought that it might be the part of the wand that would have the strongest 'attraction' to its original owner and wizard's soul or magic. The fragment's grip end, with the snake began to move in his hand, raising itself up in his hand so that its glittering tiny emerald eyes were looking towards one of the back corners of the chamber, seeming to almost come alive in his hand. With a deep breath and holding his own wand securely in his hand, Draco began to make his way towards the direction that the wand handle was facing.

As he walked the little head of the snake seemed to quest back in forth, as if it was almost trying to 'sniff out' a source of magic that it recognized. Once it had latched onto something that it seemed to recognize it lifted itself up and extended its hood, much like the live cobra it had represented. Draco merely followed the direction it faced until he came to one of the back corners. Here there were three or four Dementors congregated and lazily floating around, almost as if they were conversing. The wand snake looked intently at the group and Draco could not identify which one could be his father's. Deciding that he would take matters into his own hands he sent a stunner at the nearest Dementor as it was floating in the corner.

Much to his pleased surprise the Dementor froze in mid air, but remained floating above the ground as it had before. No one had ever really tired to send a stunner at Dementor before, mainly because one was usually nearly incapable of performing magic when under their presence. With a flick of his wrist Draco moved the first Dementor out of the way, watching the piece of wand in his hand to see if it was indeed his fathers. The snake head had no interest in the first Dementor so Draco stunned the next Dementor and repeated the process. As before the snake had no interest until he came to the fourth and final Dementor in the corner. It had seemed oblivious to his dealing with its cell mates and Draco sent a stunner in its direction. Moving the Dementor aside he watched as the head of the snake followed the Dementor as he moved it. Doing that for a minute or two he was satisfied that it was indeed the Dementor he was looking for.

Putting the piece of wand away for a moment Draco drew out another item that he had read about in Marcell's notes and had managed to find in his Swiss Bank Vault. His father had obviously heard some mention of the device somewhere and had managed to procure one for himself. Never taking his eyes off his father's Dementor Draco drew what looked to be a medium Potions vial from the special bag in his pocket that was made of what appeared to be black glass or obsidian with a clear glass stopper. It was called a Fiend Carafe by those who knew what it was, but was sometimes called a Hell's Vial by others who were less familiar with what it was and what it did. It was constructed in such a manner in which to be able to hold a vastly powerful magical creature isolated from whatever was next to it, allowing it to be easily transported or in some cases, enslaved to the owner of the vial. It was many times used to capture and ensnare fairies or sprites to do the bidding of the capturer. In this case, Draco was going to use it to transfer his father's Dementor to a safe, accessible place.

Draco had already cast the necessary spells over the vial and had it ready for this moment. He still though, did not put away his wand; he merely shifted it in his hand so that it would be out of the way. Then he pointed the end of the vial with the stopper at his father's Dementor. Removing the stopper in one fluid motion Draco muttered the charm that would invoke the powers of the vial. From in front of the vial there seemed to be a great wind that that seemed to be flowing from around his father's Dementor and into the vial, but it was not something that affected him. His father's Dementor seemed as though it was getting sucked through a funnel as the air around it drew it closer and closer to the vial's opening. Then within an instant the Dementor was no longer in front of Draco and he quickly and with a smooth motion, replaced the cover to the vial. There was a deep resounding sort of sound that usually accompanied large heavy hallway doors being closed and the stopper turned from clear to being filled with midnight black smoke that swirled within the ball of the stopper, indicating that the vial was occupied, and the dark power of the creature within.

With a sigh of relief that Draco did not realize he had been holding he carefully put the vial back into his pocket from whence it came. Then he also retrieved the handle piece of his father's wand again. Muttering the same charm onto the piece of wand as he had before, save the fact he specified that he wanted to find the soul stone instead of the body, Draco watched as the snake began to search for the direction of the soul stone. After a minute or two the little snake's head turned and lead him towards the other end of the chamber. Along the way, Draco began to pick up the piles of soul stones, bones and other… bits and put them into a large garbage bag he took out and charmed to follow him. actually he didn't have to do much at all with the ordeal except to capture and then re-shrink the brooms as he passed the piles, he had charmed a dust pan to clean up after him on most days when there were less chances of him getting caught doing such a thing and being accused of 'skimping out' on his duties.

Draco decided that he would clean up all the piles that did not have his father's soul stone first. He had managed to make it most of the way around the chamber before the little snake head on the end of his father's wand made any real change in the direction it was pointing. Going slower and with a bit more caution Draco kept a careful eye on the snake head and ended up circling around the pile until he was satisfied that he had come to the correct pile. With a few careful flicks of his wand he separated out and removed the bones and other bits from the soul stones. Draco felt that he was lucky though, for the pile of soul stones that he had just made was very small, only about ten or twelve of varying colors and sizes. Carefully splitting the pile in half and moving the resulting piles a respectable distance apart he then disposed of the pile that the snake head had no interest in.

He continued to repeat this process until he was left with one single soul stone left on the floor before him and the snake head of his father's wand staring at it intently. He was left with a soul stone about the size of a large chicken egg and looked nearly black against the frost covered floor. Reaching out he picked the soul stone up, surprised by its weight, as if he was picking up a piece of cast iron. Standing back up and holding the soul stone up to the candlelight around him he noticed that it was not completely opaque as he could see the flame behind the stone, almost as if there was a black flame that burned within. After a moment Draco tore his eyes from his father's soul stone and proceeded to place it and the handle of his father's wand back into the pouch in his pocket.

After a final quick glance around the chamber he seemed satisfied that it was done well enough for him to leave. Despite the fact he was not affected by the Dementors directly he was still very off put by the presence of a few dozen in the chamber that he could see. He was quite sure that there were more, but he could not see the whole chamber from the light that his few weak candles could provide. Turning to the door he flicked his wand as he had before and the door clanged open to allow him to leave. Draco left at a dignified pace, though he really did want nothing more than to run. But his pride wouldn't let it happen, even if there was no one around to witness such a thing.

Once he was sure the door was securely closed behind him and the candles around him, snuffed and put away Draco went back up to his boss and handed in the pass. Despite the fact that it was only eleven in the morning Draco told his boss that he wanted the rest of the day off. His boss for once did not have a problem with such an idea and told him that he was still expected back the next day for his next assignment, but was free to leave. Leaving the Ministry he apparated to Diagon Alley where he bought himself a large bottle of Firewhiskey and a large bar of the finest chocolate he could find.

Sitting before a roaring fire in the same lounge that he had sworn to avenge his father and punish Severus later that day, Draco peered at the Soul Stone he had acquired as he poured himself another glass from the already half drained bottle of Firewhiskey and munched on the chocolate. He now had almost everything he needed to begin to brew the Potion to bring back his father. Now all he needed to do was figure out how to get a Phoenix feather from Severus or Hermione's Phoenix without their knowledge if possible. And there was also that little issue of a body as well, but then he would worry about that when he absolutely needed it, he had a few ideas of where he could procure one.

"Very soon father," he said to the air as he leaned back, sipped his Firewhiskey and held the Soul stone in front of him. "Very soon until Severus breathes his last at our feet and his wife broken before she joins him on the other side of the Veil."

**A/N: creepy! I almost want to reach through the screen and slowly strangle Draco, and I am the writer! Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and will send me a review (yes I know, shameless huh?). I am not quite sure when I will get the next chapter written and posted for your reading pleasure, but I hope to do so soon. I have been day dreaming about the next chapter or the chapter after it for almost three days and my coworkers are having a field day with it, (the dreamy eyed, far off look), they are just having too much fun so I guess I will have to find the time to get it out of my system and onto the screen. **

**As it goes, I must as always, thank my wonderful friend, beta and fan fic sis,** Skydancinghobbit** for the wonderful encouragement and for putting up with the occasional rant about being far away. Go read her stuff it is really good! (even if I am her beta). Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Live long, Laugh much, Love all- Dragons Quill**


	15. New Beginnings

**A/N: Hey everybody! I have another chapter for you all YEA! This is a short little chapter addressing the day after **_**Dream a Little Dream**_** and the Phoenix. I debated if this chapter should be put up or not, but I believe that it should be because I have had a couple questions about the Phoenix nesting. That will be later in the fic, nearer the end and I hope this will answer most or all of the questions about how they will be nesting. I hope you enjoy.**

**Bold Italics is Fawkes speaking, regular Italics is Emerald speaking. **

Chapter 15

_New Beginnings_

Fawkes and Emerald had to wait a significant time the next morning before either Hermione or Severus ventured to leave the confines of the bed chamber. When they did they were both shocked by the state that the Phoenix were in. Both had lost their luster and they looked for lack of a better word, moth-eaten.

"What is wrong with you guys?" Hermione had asked. "What can we do to help you?"

"_Our time is at an end, for now." _Emerald said. _"With each Burning we only get a certain amount of power. We used up a great deal of what we had left on the meetings between you both and Severus' father."_

"_**As it is my second time doing such a thing in such a short period of time since my last Burning and it was such a power drain. It is now time for another Burning Day so that we will both have enough energy for what needs to be done next."**_ Fawkes informed them.

"And what is it that must be done next?" Severus asked.

"_We are going to nest."_ Emerald replied. _"And in order to do that we will need more energy than what is left over after we facilitated the meeting from last night. So we have decided that we will herald in our Burning Days earlier than normal, so that we can nest."_

"_**What we need you both to do though, is to make sure that the house elves do not clean up the ashes that we leave behind once we have Burned, or that either of you feed us anything until about a week and a half after we have been reborn from our ashes. We need the ashes to regain all of the knowledge and power that we had before our Burning Day, having other things to eat beyond our ashes will only make the process of re-growing longer. If you could cast some sort of protective orb around us that would be appreciated, and then take it down in a week and a half after we have been reborn."**_ Fawkes told them.

"Sure, I guess that sounds like a good idea." Hermione said. "What exactly happens when you go through your Burning Day? Will it affect us in some way?"

"_We are consumed by flame."_ Emerald said, as if it was obvious. _"But, no, our status as chicks will not affect your powers directly in anyway. The only issue would lie in the fact that we will be without the ability to help you if you were in need of it. We will not learn the different songs of our kind until near the end of our ashes and we can not begin to produce the powerful tears until about two weeks after our Burning Day. So basically for two weeks you will be out of luck if you need our help and we won't be back to our full strength as fully fledged Phoenix until we have passed the sixth month mark since our Burning Day. After that we will be able to begin nesting."_

"What exactly does nesting involve? What will we need to provide for you to nest?" Severus asked. "I have never heard of Phoenix nesting before."

"_**It is a rare occurrence."**_ Fawkes said. _**"It only happens when two Phoenix Keepers with two different gender birds get married. It usually doesn't happen more than once every thousand years or so. You will need to provide us with a large hearth where we can have a large Phoenix Fire in which to nest. It will take nine months to incubate an egg, in which it can not be moved."**_

"So you are basically saying that once you nest that we are expected not to go back and forth between the Manor and here at Hogwarts?" Severus asked. "Will we be in some way obligated to stay in the same place as the egg?"

"_Yes, and no."_ Emerald said. _"We as your Phoenix, are required to stay in close proximity to you, but also as a nesting pair, we will be required to stay with our egg. When our chick hatches we will be able to move more freely after about a month when the chick will be able to fly enough to travel on its own. _

_As for being able to go back and forth between the Manor, it can be done, as long as there is a reliable Floo connection and at least one of us is with the egg at all times. Once the chick is hatched though, both of us need to be with our chick constantly for the first month, so then yes, you will need to be back in the castle and you will be unable to go much farther than Hogsmeade for more than a few hours at most for that first month."_

"That seems a bit demanding." Severus commented. "But, seeing as there are so few of your kind, I suppose that such an imposition upon my time seems as though it is reasonable enough to accommodate, considering the fact that you claim that such opportunities for nesting only come around so infrequently and with such precise requirements a month seems a small price to pay."

"_**Thank you." **_Fawkes said and Emerald nodded her agreement. Then with a mournful cry from both of them they both burst into flames, being reduced to piles of ash below their perches within no more than a minute.

Both Hermione and Severus leaned close to their respective ash piles and saw a tiny pink, wrinkled chick nose its way out of the pile. Severus and Hermione looked at each other and nodded. Then they both took out their wands and cast orbs of protection around the perches, high enough so that when the chicks were strong enough to perch they could. These would keep the house elves away from cleaning up what they might think was a mess, as well as keeping the Phoenix in and food out so that the Phoenix chicks would eat nothing but the ashes of their former selves as they had requested.

Over the next month Severus and Hermione both enjoyed watching as Fawkes and Emerald grew back into powerful and splendid looking birds. They were obviously not as big as they were going to get when fully grown, but they were both of a reasonable size by the end of a month's time, about mid September. They would be fully grown and ready to nest by the time the New Year rolled around. Both Severus and Hermione were happy and exited for this to occur, even though it would be akin to pulling teeth for Severus to admit such a thing as excited anticipation.

**A/N: well I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter. Yes I know it was short but don't worry the next chapter will be longer, I promise. I had must admit I had far too much fun with the next chapter and the one after that is part way done, but you don't get them yet. It is nice to have a chapter written but un-posted before the chapter I am writing, it just seems to take the pressure off and keeps the stoppers out of the flow of creative thinking. Don't worry it will post again real soon!**

**I have to extend my most wonderful gratitude to my beta **Skydancinghobbit **who has helped to keep my story flowing smoothly and points out glaring plot holes. She hands me the plugs to fix them so I don't have to bail so fast when I get to the part of the story where I need something. Those who can figure out what small detail she offered up that will make the whole thing run smooth gets kudos on the chapter it comes into play, and no hobbit, you get kudos anyways, you can't tell them. As a hint go back and check out chapter 8 (Minions Unite) again if you feel so inclined. **

**As always I love to hear what you all think of my writing. It may qualify as sad, but I look forward to checking my email everyday to see if I have anymore reviews or to see how many people have read my story… ok so I have a boring life, but as someone pointed out before, there are worse things than boring. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the chapter and will drop me a line. Go check out some of my other stories while you bop around the sight if you feel so inclined. Enjoy your fanfic time!-Dragons Quill**


	16. Emotions in the Great Hall

**A/N: Hey everybody, I am back and posting yeah! I had full intentions of posting yesterday, but my beta couldn't find her phone or it was dead… and it was almost midnight… but anyways, I now have it betaed and up for your reading pleasure! I hope you enjoy, and remember to read the AN on the bottom for some other important info that I figured I wouldn't burden you with before the chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 16

_Emotions in the Great Hall_

The end of August came quickly and September also breezed by with a hint of winter on the winds. Severus and Hermione continued to meet and exceed the Ministry's requirement for procreation, although Hermione remained without a child. Once a month Hermione would go to the Hospital wing and have Madame Pomfrey run the diagnostics to check for pregnancy. Each time she was required to give a small vial of her blood so that it could be sent off to the Ministry to confirm whatever the outcome would be. Usually the diagnostics would not be performed when she was around, as during this time of year many different injuries involving the Quiddutch teams and the inevitable sickness that was bound to blossom in the presence of so many children, with so many germs, from so many different homes, collided with each other at the beginning of each school year. So Hermione was relegated to learning the results of her test by looking down the table in the Great Hall three days after the blood was drawn at the Hogwarts' nurse who would always give a saddened shake of her head.

Finally October came around and it was Halloween. With it came the annual Halloween Ball for the upperclassmen after the Halloween feast. Hermione stood in front of the mirror in their shared chambers and began to get ready. This year it was going to be a masquerade ball of sorts and the teachers were allowed to dress up as well. There was little surprise to know that Severus, after being told sternly by Minerva that he had no choice to attend, was not putting that much effort into it. He had merely pointed his wand at himself and modified his teaching robes into a high necked Transylvanian cape after pulling his hair back with a piece of leather. It would seem that he was Dracula for the evening. Hermione had merely rolled her eyes while attempting, and failing, to keep a straight face. Severus had replied with a curt sniff, though he really was not offended.

Hermione had decided that she was going to be a Roman woman. She had chosen this largely from the point of view to draw less attention to the fact that she was still not pregnant. Normally she would have liked to display such a thing, enjoying her ability to still wear anything in her closet, unlike her friends who had been heard complaining regularly about the need to continually transfigure their wardrobe to fit. But seeing as they were in fact actively attempting for a child, such a thing was not something she wanted to advertise. As she was surveying herself one final time in the mirror Severus came up behind her and placed a half crescent of olive branches on her head he had transfigured from a bit of parchment, spelling it into place before wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I felt that your dress was missing something." He said quietly as he laid a gentle kiss just above her collar bone, looking in her eyes through the mirror. "Now you look as radiant as a Roman goddess."

"Just as long as you don't burst into flames my 'Prince of the Night'." She smiled and leaned against him with a light sigh. She was rewarded with a deep chuckle next to her ear.

"Only you my dear, could come up with that." Hermione could not help but return his smirk with one of her own. "Come, we must be going." He said after a moment. "We wouldn't want the dunderheads left unattended, you never know what trouble they will cause if they are." Hermione just shook her head with a grin knowing he would probably never change, and she was ok with that. Once they were outside their chambers he offered out his arm and led her through the back passages to the staff entrance of the Great Hall.

The Great Hall had the huge great pumpkins and candles floating over the room as had been at dinner, but the four large tables had been removed. There were instead small round tables around the outside of the hall and there was a large area in the center for dancing. The punch bowl and munchies for the evening were positioned at the head of the hall where the staff table usually was.

Upon entering Severus stationed himself almost directly behind the punch bowl. Par the norm he would glare suspiciously at each individual that came anywhere near the punch, not surprisingly there were very few people that stuck around long enough to cause any trouble. He seemed to be the guardian of the school's sobriety for the evening. Shaking her head she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and decided to mingle with her colleges and separate the couples who were intent upon performing simultaneous tonsillectomies upon each other. He had given her a nearly imperceptible nod of his head when she had kissed him and she could see the flicker of a flame in his eyes. She was quite sure that she would have a late night; at least Halloween had fallen on a Friday this year.

About and hour into the dance Hermione was waylaid by Madame Pomfrey who seemed to be in a bit of a huff.

"What's up?" Hermione asked her. "Is everything alright?"

"I will know in a second dear." She said somewhere between excitement and exasperation. "Come with me I have to check on something." She had grabbed her hand and was leading her towards the nearest exit that happened to be the staff exit. Severus gave her a look and she merely shrugged as she let the nurse lead her away.

"Now stand still a moment dear." Madame Pomfrey said in an excited tone once she had closed the door behind them. "This should only take a moment." She took out her wand and pointed it at Hermione.

"What is going on?" Hermione asked. "Is there something wrong?"

She did not immediately answer, but waved her wand rather enthusiastically over Hermione's abdomen with a look of concentration. Hermione recognized it only as some type of diagnostic test that she was unfamiliar with. With a final flick of her wand Madame Pomfrey stood back to view her handy work. Seeming to float over Hermione's abdomen was a 'cloud' of purple. Hermione had never seen that before and she was confused.

Madame Pomfrey beamed so brightly that Hermione was sure that she would need sunglasses or that her face would split in two for the width of her smile. "Congratulations!" She nearly squealed and with a flick of her wand the purple was gone and Hermione was encased in a tremendous hug. "I just go the results back from your blood that we drew a couple days ago and I had to come and double check! I am so excited for you!"

"You mean…!" Hermione could hardly get the words out between shock, excitement and the confines of the hug. "That… that… I'm finally_ pregnant_?" Hermione said the last bit in a whisper; almost as if she said such at thing it would cease to be true.

"Yes my dear, you are three weeks along." The matron of the Hospital beamed. "You are going to have twins."

"_TWINS_!" She choked out. "How do you know that?!"

"The spell." Poppy said. "It tells not only if you are pregnant but what you are having. Purple is a mix of pink and blue, you are having one of each, a boy and a girl."

"No more waiting then!" Hermione said in relief and excitement. "Twins?!"

"Yes my dear, twins." Poppy beamed.

"Can you show me how you did that spell? I want to be able to show Severus." Hermione asked.

"Of course my dear." Poppy agreed and showed Hermione how to cast the spell. "White means that you are without child, light blue means a single male, pink means a single female, red is two girls, dark blue is two boys and purple is the rarest of the colors meaning one of each." She explained excitedly once the spell had been explained and Hermione had successfully cast it on herself. There is another spell to tell how far along you are, but that is significantly more complicated. All you really need to know is that you are three weeks along and that you are having one of each." It was obviously hard for her to keep in her excitement. "I am so happy for you!" Madame Pomfrey smiled catching her in a large bear hug again.

"I am happy too." Hermione said willing away the tears of happiness. "I had almost given up hope."

"You're not the only one." Madame Pomfrey admitted. "But that is all past you now."

"I must go tell Severus!" Hermione said in an excited tone.

"Well don't let me keep you!" Poppy said releasing her and shushing her through the door back to the party in the Great Hall with a flourish.

Hermione nearly bounded through the door and was quite sure that she was walking on air because of the news. Severus who was still guarding the punch bowl like it contained the nuclear secretes of some small country, and looked up at her as she breezed past him. She could see in his eyes a mix of light concern and amusement for the radiant smile and almost floating steps she took as she first passed him and seemed to assault Harry and Ginny who were at a nearby table. He was slightly amused by the sight of the Boy that lived to annoy him, being dragged along by Hermione after a moment in talk with Ginny. The fact he was being manhandled while coming his direction was indeed a bit worry some though, he tried to stay away from the boy whenever he could. He raised a curious eyebrow when she stopped in front of him, finally allowing Harry to catch his feet beside her. She looked up into his eyes with radiant, liquid honey eyes.

"What is this about?" Harry panted from beside her. "Why did you drag me all the way across the room without warning?"

"Severus, come dance with me please." Hermione said, a touch of a plea in her eyes, completely ignoring Harry's question. "Harry will make sure that the punch stays safe, Ginny will want some later." She glanced at Harry when she said this. Severus knew that Ginny was pregnant and Harry would likely guard the punch so that his wife could still drink it. Severus seemed a bit surprised by his wife's insistence and just a bit annoyed by the look on Harry's face that suggested that he believed Severus was going to refuse her request. Remembering that only a few months ago his wife had been reduced to melancholy because the others in the castle believed her to be neglected, he made a discussion. Just as he did so the first strains of a waltz began to play. There seemed to be some disgruntled grunts from a few of the students at this.

"Hermione." He said with a slight bow. He would deal with anything from the student body when it happened, he would indulge his wife tonight. "Would you honor me with a dance?" He held his hand out for her and she blushed slightly at his formal request where hers had sounded much like an over exuberant Second Year's.

She put her hand in his and he led her out to the middle of the dance floor that seemed to have cleared out some due to the fact that most of the children didn't know how to waltz. With a twirl he brought her into his arms and began to lead in a relaxed yet obviously professional manner. He couldn't help but smirk as he noticed that talk around the room had almost completely stopped and all faces seemed to be focused on Hermione and himself. Even the few other dancers had stopped to gawk at the sight of the waltzing Potions Master. It was as if the entire school thought that he was incapable of dancing, or that it was perhaps not proper for him to dance with his wife.

"So Hermione it seems that you will stop at nothing to ruin my reputation as a greasy, uncaring git that I worked so hard to create." He purred in her ear. "Though perhaps now the others will believe you when you say that your husband is attentive."

"That is not why I wanted to dance." She chuckled in his ear as he kept his cheek next to hers. "I need to tell you something important."

"So… I guess that answers my question." He smirked, pulling his head back to look at her.

"What?" She asked rather confused.

"You do talk as a rule while dancing." He had a look of triumph in his eyes as she tilted her head back and let the musical notes of her laughter sooth his soul once again.

"Not exactly." She said lightly looking up into his eyes with laughter still dancing in her eyes. "I wanted to be the first one to claim you for a dance as a father to be."

Severus continued to function on auto pilot for the split second that it took for his brain to process what Hermione had just said. Then everything just froze. Luckily it was the end of the song and it seemed almost normal for him to stop. Hermione felt as every muscle in his body froze and watched as his eyes grew wide and unfocused for a moment. He suddenly grabbed her arms, though not roughly and looked deep into her eyes.

"What did you say?!" He asked in a harsh strained whisper.

"You're going to be a father Severus." She said smiling and fighting back the tears of joy that were threatening to spill over. "I am finally pregnant."

"You're sure?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Positive." Hermione nodded.

"Oh Hermione!" He breathed out and clutched her to himself in a suffocating hug. Hermione wrapped her arms around him in return. After a moment she felt as if she was almost holding him up. "I think I need to sit down." Hermione heard Severus sort of groan out, sounding as if he had suddenly been affected by the stomach bug. Hermione helped guide him to the floor where he knelt, still clutching her close. Hermione drew back and looked around as she heard her fellow staff come rushing up to gather around, Lupin ordering the students to stand back.

"I say!" Headmistress McGonagall exclaimed rushing over to stand beside Hermione. "What has happened here?! Is every thing alright?!"

"So I see you told him." Madame Pomfrey beamed from beside McGonagall.

"Told him what?" Neville asked. "What is wrong? Hermione, are you ok?"

"Nothing is wrong Neville." Hermione smiled, supporting Severus' shoulders as he sat on the floor holding his head with glazed eyes. "All I did was tell Severus that he is going to be a father. I am pregnant with twins."

"_TWINS!?_" Severus nearly squeaked out in a strangled voice before his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out leaning on Hermione. In the shocked silence that followed the statement Madame Pomfrey stepped forward and with a couple flicks of her wand deemed Severus to no worse for the ware.

"You merely surprised him so greatly that he passed out." Madame Pomfrey told Hermione. "I can't say that I blame him. Just get him off to your bed and he should be fine in the morning. Now if you will excuse me I believe I have to go get to the Hospital Wing and prepare a few beds." She smiled at Hermione and then went around the room to check on the others that had also lost consciousness at the statement. Neville, Ron, and a few students were down and Harry looked just a tad green. Whether it was the fact that Severus and Hermione were having twins or that Severus and Hermione actually did have a sex life was unclear. Everyone else including the students seemed to be in shock at the statement.

"Well Headmistress." Hermione addressed Minerva from the floor, supporting Severus. "It would appear that Severus and I can not stay for the rest of the ball. If you need anything we will be in our chambers."

"Yes, yes, that is good." Minerva managed to choke out finally after a moment. "I will see you tomorrow then." Then to the rest of the room. "It would appear that it is getting late, it is now time for you all to return to your dormitories. I am sure you will all need a good nights sleep for all the homework you will need to get done tomorrow. Off with you all now." There was an undercurrent of discontent with that statement, but as Minerva was the Headmistress all the students begrudgingly began to drag their way back to their House Common Rooms for the rest of the evening. "Here," Minerva said transfiguring a handkerchief into a stretcher and settled it on the floor next to Severus.

"Thank you Minerva." Hermione said with a smile. "I will see you sometime tomorrow then?"

"Yes and congratulations." She said nodding and then went to go encourage the rest of the lingering students to leave for their dormitories and that their friends who had landed on the floor, really would be all right.

Hermione pushed and levitated Severus onto the stretcher and then levitated him out of the Great Hall back down to their chambers. Once she had brought him into their chambers she drew back the covers of their bed. With a flick of her wand she had him undressed down to his boxers and then slid him between the sheets, tucking him in by hand and putting his wand on the nightstand where he always put it. She transfigured the stretcher back to its original form and put it on the dresser beside the bed.

Then she turned her wand back at herself and changed into short loose fitting shorts and a tank top to sleep. She would have normally cleaned herself up and changed for bed without magic, but she felt the need to be beside Severus and didn't want to take as long as it would have the muggle way. She slid between the sheets, curled up beside him her head resting on his shoulder and her hand resting on his chest, feeling his heart beat. With a faint smile she kissed his chest and snuggled back down. After a few minutes she felt as he began to stir. Lifting her head up her looked into his eyes as they fluttered open.

"Hey." She smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Twins?" He asked in a hushed, nearly reverent manner, ignoring her question.

"Yes Severus, twins." She smiled. "You are going to be a father, twice over."

Severus smiled, really smiled, his eyes sparkling with tears that would be denied strongly if ever brought up. Reaching out he drew her to him even tighter and kissed her passionately. "I am so happy. How far along are you?"

"We are about three weeks along." She told him, grasping his hand and laying it across her stomach below her navel, resting her hand on top of his. "We are having a boy and a girl. It has finally happened; I am pregnant with our children. After all that waiting and worrying, that is now over."

"Indeed." Severus agreed. "I can also now experience the pride of watching my wife swell with my children, just as all the other men in the castle have."

"I just hope you will feel that way near the end." Hermione told him. "Twins will take up more room than just one. I have no idea how I will be able to walk in eight months."

"I'm sure you will manage." Severus told her, cupping her cheek and drawing her in for a kiss. "I love you so much."

"And I love you too Severus." Hermione shifted so that she was nearly on top of him and his hand was stroking her through the fabric of her tank top.

"Wait Hermione." Severus said as she set to covering his face with kisses and he had managed to put both hands beneath the feeble boundary of her nightwear. "Can we even do this anymore? I mean will it hurt the babies if we continue?"

"No Severus, it won't hurt the babies. I asked Madame Pomfrey about that a while back. She said that as long as it is comfortable for me, than it is perfectly safe. You needn't worry; I won't let anything happen to our children." She told him, leaning back down and kissing him deeply. "I love you and them too much."

Severus breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. He was fully prepared to become celibate for the next, nearly a year with the recovery time included, if he had to. He did not want to put Hermione or his unborn children at risk. He though did not really like the idea of laying beside his wife for that long and never being able to connect with her in such an intimate manner. Their intellectual and physical relationships both in and out of the bedroom were something he treasured like nothing else. He would have felt as if he were missing a limb if he had been unable to show Hermione how much he loved her in the best way that he knew how. While he had loosened up and now was able to more freely tell Hermione how deeply he loved her in words, it was still in the bedroom that he was able to loose his restrictions and show her how deeply he felt.

Entering her gently and with great reverence, Severus and Hermione made love long into the night until they both fell to the bed content and exhausted. Gathering her in his arms he drew the blankets around them. Severus laid his hand protectively over Hermione's womb and smiled to himself, knowing that it was his children growing beneath his hand. He was going to be a father. With that thought he drifted off to sleep, his hand still above their children and Hermione's head tucked beneath his chin, shoulders cupped by his own. For once everything was right with the world.

**A/N: awww… warm fuzzy moment… ok, I'm back. Well I hope you liked what I did to poor Severus, I just had to do it, I must admit it was much too fun. And twins! Yeah, Severus is going to be a father, finally. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.**

**As for the next chapter I do have it written, but am giving you my readers a chance to tell me when to post it. I have looked at the calander with all of the things that need to be done on it, quite frankly I don't know how I will get it all done. I will likely not be able to write anything in the next couple weeks at least if not a month. I move back home and have to get the internship presentation done. Also have to figure out a long term survival strategy for one of our calves (stupid mother has zero mothering instinct grr…), help a friend with her pregnant mare (first foal for both mare and friend), shearing sheep (make them naked hehe (pocket/gas money)), find a job (stupid school loans come due soon) and clean my room at home (needs an expedition with an elephant gun for the dust bunnies **_**of Doom**_**, a hazmat suit and maybe a ventilator… perhaps I should write my last will and testament before I do that).**

**Anyways the point is, I really don't know when I will be able to sit down to write again until about the middle of May. So I could post the next chapter within three or four days (have to give everyone a chance to read this chapter), or I could post in about two weeks so that there is a more consistent time between posts. The choice is up to you, just drop me a review or a PM to let me know. In three or four days I will figure out which got more 'votes' and will make the decision then. **

**As always I must thank my wonderful beta and fan fic 'sis' **_Skydancinghobbit_** for her wonderful guidance to keep Severus himself and being my sounding board. I don't know where my stories would be if she didn't let me shoot ideas at her and then tell me if she thinks they would be well received or not, I know for certain I would have had a harder time keeping Severus himself. **

**Now that I have written a small novella for the AN, I suppose I should say… until I post again I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. If you have the time and feel so inclined, go check out some of my other works (they need love too) or check out some of my beta's works, I do believe they are quite good (even if I am one of her betas). In the meantime, Live, Laugh, Love- Dragons Quill **


	17. Well Wishers

**A/N: yeah all those lovely reviews! I am so glad to hear from you all and that you are liking what I have written! As you may have guessed, there was an overwhelming thought among nearly everyone that I should wait to post this chapter, so I have. I only have a few lines of th next chapter written, and there is still too much to do to write more than a line or two at night, but I hope to have the next chapter finished and ready to post soon. But anyways, I will let you get to the chapter so that you can enjoy it. I know this chapter was much too much fun to write. More AN to follow, enjoy!**

_Chapter 17_

Well Wishers

Hermione woke the next morning to her husband looking intently at her and feeling his hand gently stroking her lower belly. Severus was propped up on one elbow and looking more content than she had ever seen him. Upon seeing that she was awake he smiled.

"Good morning Hermione." He said silkily, his hand still resting just below her abdomen. "How did you sleep?"

"Well." She said with a yawn, stretching beneath his hand. She could see the dark fire of desire light in his eyes, but it seemed he would ignore it as he asked a question.

"What happened last night?" He asked. "The last thing I remember before waking up in bed beside you last night was dancing in the Great Hall. How did I end up here in bed with you, and nearly naked at that anyway?"

"I brought you down here. I am very glad for levitation spells." Hermione smiled.

"You didn't have any help?" He asked with concern.

"No, Madame Pomfrey had to go get the Hospital Wing ready to receive people and the other staff were busy helping her and making sure the children all got back to their dorms in one piece." Hermione smiled. "It seems that you were not the only one to kiss the floor at my news. Neville and Ron were out cold and Harry looked positively green, though I am not sure the reason. A few of the kids also passed out, mostly those in Slytherin and Gryffindor. I guess it was too much for them to comprehend that their Heads of House really can tolerate each other well enough for us to have a sex life." Severus and Hermione, though they loved each other dearly were still opposing Heads of House and Severus for sure had not given up finding any and all reasons to remove points from Gryffindor. Hermione was not quite as obvious about her favoritism, but it was obvious enough.

Severus smirked and leaned down to kiss her lips, his hand straying to her breast. "Wouldn't they be surprised at just how much we 'tolerate' each other?" Hermione merely moaned her agreement from the midst of the kiss. She let her hand tangle in his black mane and her other hand pull on his shoulder to encourage him closer. Not surprisingly they did not make an appearance at breakfast.

At lunch Severus escorted Hermione into the Great Hall and pulled out her chair as had become his custom. They were a bit earlier than they normally were, but Severus wanted to eat and be finished so that he and Hermione could go to Hogsmeade and pick up an order of Potions ingredients that had arrived. They also had plans to spend an indeterminate amount of time in the bookstore while they were there. Before everyone arrived they engaged in quiet conversation concerning the feasibility of different muggle compounds being used in some of Severus' various experimental Potions. This conversation seemed almost to be a nearly circular and continuously evolving conversation, ideas being thrown around and discarded on a whim, hoping that they would come up with something new. Hermione was just discussing the concept of Plaster of Pairs when Severus interrupted her.

"Weasley, I mean Potter." He drawled with a slightly annoyed sound to his voice, no longer looking at her, but beyond her, jutting his chin a bit to indicate behind her. Hermione didn't have time to do more than raise a questioning eyebrow before she heard a nearly ear splitting, very girly squeal. Turning her head she was just in time to see a flash of red hair before she was enveloped in a hug by a five months pregnant Ginny Potter.

"Oh I am so happy for you!" She squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she held on to Hermione. "Do you know what you are having?!"

"Twins." Severus drawled, but there was a smugly triumphant gleam to his eyes.

"Yes, yes, but do you know the gender?" She asked excitedly pulling away from the hug enough to look at Hermione.

"We are having a boy and a girl." Hermione said with a small smile.

"Oh that is so exciting!" Ginny almost squealed again. "I am so happy for you!" She had disengaged from hugging Hermione and made a move to give Severus a hug as well.

"Madame." Severus said with a glare and a stern tone. "If you in fact wish to retain the use of your arms you will _not_ be giving me a hug!" He had picked up his spoon and pointed it as menacingly as a spoon could be at Ginny. It would seem that he did not entirely trust himself with his wand.

Ginny looked at Severus and tried not to smile. He scowled back as if he could make her go away by sheer force of will. Hermione sat as quietly as she could while trying not to laugh. Ginny gave a sigh in resignation after a moment, sobering back down to the 'grown up' and 'responsible' teacher she was supposed to be, instead of the preteen girl she had been imitating. With the sigh Severus took it as acquiescence to his request and stood down, returning his cutlery to where it belonged. Just as he put the spoon down Ginny swept in and gave him a big hug anyway. Severus managed to retain his grip on his spoon and proceeded to try to beat her off with the 'business end' of the spoon. But he was only marginally successful due to the fact Ginny had his arms trapped at his sides in the hug.

"I'm still happy for you anyway." Ginny beamed and jumped out of range of the flailing spoon.

Hermione was doing everything she could to keep a straight face at the sight. She finally gave up and rested her elbow on the table and made it look like she was resting her chin in her hand while her hand covered her mouth. Severus glared dulled daggers at Ginny and then seemed to give himself a slight shake before recomposing himself. Hermione was reminded strongly of a parrot ridding itself of water, shaking, puffing out and then returning each feather to its proper place.

"I told you that having you around would do nothing to help keep my carefully cultivated reputation." Severus sniffed at Hermione in mock disgust. "Now my personal bubble has been violated, by a Weasley-Potter nonetheless!" Not trusting herself to speak, Hermione kept her hand in front of her mouth and shrugged as innocently as she could. A snorting cough/laugh was heard from Minerva who had just witnessed Ginny's hug. Before he was able to do much more than give a glare to the Headmistress to his other side he suddenly was pitched forward, nearly landing bodily on the table as he was thumped on the back by Hagrid who had just come in the staff entrance.

"Congratulations!" He boomed. "I just heard the news at breakfast. I am very happy for you both. I'm sure you will make a good father Severus."

"If I make it that long." Hermione heard him mumble under his breath as he gently messaged his shoulder.

"Thank you Hagrid." She smiled up at him. "It really means a lot to both of us." She gave him a nudge with her foot and Severus gave a vaguely committed grunt in reply. Just as he seemed satisfied that he had in fact did not have a dislocated shoulder; Severus was accosted in the other shoulder by Lupin who had just walked in the door.

"Well it seems that you still have what it takes old man." Lupin grinned. "It is good to see that you can still keep up."

"I would like to remind you fleabag that we were in the same year. So if I am old, so are you." Severus ground out between clenched teeth, trying very hard not to hex him for his cheek. Lupin merely shrugged and went to take his seat in his chair. But just as his rear was going to touch the seat, the chair suddenly vanished into thin air and Lupin was quite suddenly on the cold stone floor, looking very confused. He gave Severus a dirty look but he saw nothing more than Severus picking a roll to eat with his hearty potato soup that was for lunch, highly absorbed in the task. Hermione could not keep in the laughter any longer and dissolved into a fit of giggles, leaning back and slouching in her chair. Lupin figured that it would be useless to try to reason with Severus and simply took a napkin and made a new chair so that he could have a place to sit, hopefully with a bit more dignity than before. Severus looked at Hermione with a look that promised all sorts of pain in the very near future if she didn't stop laughing. This action merely resulted in the opposite affect occurring as Hermione sunk deeper into her chair and tried desperately to swallow her laughter as the goings on at the Head Table were becoming a spectacle. Finally she was able to get herself together enough to sit up like a proper adult and swallow her food.

After a few minutes of uneventful eating, the meal was interrupted again by Harry coming in the staff entrance. Upon seeing Hermione he reached out for her and gave her a big hug, laying a light kiss on her forehead. "I am proud of you and Severus." Harry said a bit haltingly, almost as if each word he spoke was indeed painful. Even though Hermione had convinced both men to burry the hatchet between them, they still disliked each other to an untold amount, although Hermione was happy that they didn't provoke each other directly… very often. "I am happy for you both."

"That is all well and fine Potter." Severus said barely bothering to look up from his food. "But I would recommend that you unhand my wife, I am sure that Minerva would prefer to finally have a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for more than a single year. Although, on second thought, do continue, I would like to put in my application again this year." Severus turned and gave Harry a challenging look. "Oh and while you're at it, do keep your wife to herself as well." Harry looked absolutely floored at such a comment, confusion written all over his face. It was obvious that Severus would not be forth coming with any more information so Harry looked at Hermione.

"Ginny gave him a hug." Hermione snickered.

"Seriously?" Harry asked a smirk beginning on his face. Hermione nodded, but kept her laughter at bay. "Man, I wish I had gotten here earlier," Harry said. "I would have paid good gallons to see that."

"Oh Harry," Minerva said, eavesdropping on the conversation. "I almost forgot to mention it to you, but you will need to see me sometime this afternoon. There is a pensive that I believe you should see." Minerva gave him a wink and a smile. Harry looked confused for a moment and then caught on and nodded.

"Yes Headmistress, I will come directly after lunch."

"Hey!" Severus said looking at Minerva. "Whose side are you on anyways?"

"In this case there are no 'sides'. I merely would like to… 'Spread the love', as it were." Somehow Minerva was able to say that with a straight face, Hermione would always wonder how in the future. Severus' jaw just dropped in astonishment, unable to come up with a proper retort. He finally gave her a glare of death, which was ineffective, and then turned back to his meal, attacking his poor soup with fierce intensity.

Luckily there were no more well wishers at lunch and Severus only had to give death glares to the few students brave enough to look at the Head Table. Once they were done Hermione and Severus left to continue their day. Severus had quite the scowl as they walked to their chambers and Hermione gently patted his arm that he was escorting her by.

"They mean well." Hermione said lightly. Severus gave her a dark look and snorted. "No really they do. At least this is better than the way they showed concern for me." She told him. "At least it wasn't like you were in a fishbowl surrounded by a large group of hungry cats, all looking for a reason to dislike your husband." A scowl was her response. "I think you think that if you keep scowling than you will never have any friends." She smiled at him. "Unfortunately for your little bubble of self made reality, I am here to tell you that it doesn't always work that way. I am here and I believe you have won over Ginny too, otherwise she wouldn't have given you a hug."

"And why would I want to be… _hugged_ by Potter's wife?" He said this with great distaste, as if he had just been asked to eat a lemon.

"Because it means that you have become part of the family, just like I became part of the family when I first came into this world. And as an only child I can say that the companionships that you can have with your fellow 'brothers' and 'sisters' is something wonderful."

"You can not expect me to become buddy buddy with Potter." He frowned.

"No, but at least be civil and open to seeing him at a social engagement, instead of just here at work." She told him gently. "I am quite sure that you will find out that having friends really isn't all that bad."

Severus grunted noncommittally, but pulled her closer as he was leading her down the castle lawns. "You are the only one I would ever consider even thinking about being in any way… social… with Potter for." He grumbled. "It would appear you have found whatever weak spot in my armor there was and have now exploited it for all its worth." He looked at her and shook his head, pausing he stepped in front of her and cupped her cheek. "And the problem is that I am just fine with you taking such liberties. I know that should worry me, but the strange thing is, that it doesn't and I still don't completely understand it." He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss.

"It is called love Severus." Hermione smiled next to his lips. "I love you so much Severus and I can not wait to see what our children will be like. You are a wonderful man, wizard and will be a wonderful father." She kissed him back.

"And I love you Hermione. You will be an amazing mother; you already do so well with being my wife and being the smartest witch of your age." He lingered at her lips, then after a moment. "Come we should be away, we have ingredients to pick up." He pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her back, tucking her under his arm protectively as she rested her head on his shoulder with a smile and throwing an arm around his waist. They walked like this all the way to Hogsmeade to the apothecary to pick up their ingredients order.

**A/N: well, I hope that you liked this chapter, it was certainly entertaining to write. I know I wanted to put acouple other characters in here, but they just wouldn't cooperate and the chapter seemed just too crowded with them (something like trying to fit the whole circus of clowns in that teeny tiny compact car… wonder if they use magic… anyways)). **

**The next chapter will be with Hermione and Severus. If all goes well and I can get them all to cooperate, draco will make a quick appearance. After that there will be a longer string of draco chapters and they will not be light and fluffy like the last few chapters have been, they will be dark and getting darker progressively, most likely until very near the end of the fic, if things go as I plan. **

**I know a few of you have expressed discontent about the way draco is treating his wife, and I will say I am also very discontented about how he is behaving (if I could I would go and beat him with a stick, but I need him to be what he is for a bit longer to finish the story as I have it planed) . But never fear, he won't get away with it for too much longer and he will get exactly what is coming to him (even though I am not super clear on the details I can assure you that it will be what he deserves) never fear. Most likely there will be a warning associated with this chapter and perhaps a few involving his father/his father's Dementor. I figured that I would at least give you all a heads up. **

**Also, I must also, as always give grateful homage to my wonderful beta **Skydancinghobbit.** She is the most wonderful beta a girl can have and wonderful friend too, she has some great stuff written and you can go check out some of her stuff too if you have the time. She helps to keep my characters as cannon as possible. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I hope to have the next chapter up soon, but as I have said before I have a time crunch for the next two or three weeks so I can't promise a time table only that you will get it before the end of May. In the mean time have fun frolicking in fanfic land- Dragons Quill**


	18. Yuletide Chere and 'Relational' Woes

**A/N: sneaks in and ducks all of the flying objects thrown my way by reviewers who demand to know why it is now June and not May as promised. *peaks over garbage can lid* 'I was busier than expected! I swear!' I know that it has been far too long but hopefully the fact that it is a huge chapter will help convince you all not to hate me! It is nearly 9000 words before authors notes… so I have an excuse! Ok fine I will stop blabbing and let you all get on to the story! As you can see from the title it condenses quite a time frame into one medium chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 18

_Yuletide Cheer and 'Relational' Woes _

There was quite a stir among the student body after the Halloween Ball. Those who had been unable to attend had heard the news from their older classmates who could talk of nothing else. Not only had the dreaded Potions Master danced, yes danced with his wife but had managed to make her laugh too! Then at the end of the dance, that only a few of the older recognized as being done with the ease and grace of a long taught Pureblood tradition (many were too floored to realize he could dance with such grace to think any farther), the Potions Master had obviously received news that surprised him. He had soon ended up being guided to the floor by his lovely wife Hermione Snape.

It was quickly learned that Mrs. Professor Snape was pregnant by Professor Snape, with twins no less! The very thought of the Professor Snapes having a sex life and one that had resulted in twins was just too much for some. Others knew that there was going to be an inevitable child from their marriage, it was due to the Marriage Law after all, but the fact that the Potions Master had displayed an emotions such as… well not quite sure what the emotion was. On anyone else it might have been called overwhelming joy, as he had smiled briefly before he went into shock because of the news, but many were hard pressed to believe he could express anything, but anger and hate towards anyone.

Most of the student body could not possibly figure out what Hermione had seen in Severus to want to marry him, even with the Marriage Law coming into effect. Some of the older students, mostly the sixth and seventh years had noticed that there was a change in the Potions Master from even the year before, well at least in how he was at the staff table. In the classroom he was possibly worse than before, more than a few of the students had hoped that now he would be getting laid on a regular basis that he would ease up. In their estimation there were two reasons for his worse attitude in class:

a) He was either getting laid too often for him to get a good night's sleep now or that

b) He was getting the bare minimum; most bets were on the latter of the ideas for his disposition.

This thought was reinforced by the fact that the next week after the Halloween Ball that he laid into all of his classes with extra homework and a points taking frenzy from everyone including his own House. There wasn't a single comment even whispered about his dancing ability, Hermione's pregnancy or his sex life after the first two and a half minutes of class (a very disgruntled Slytherin had made some comment under his breath about him needing to get laid again soon, this had resulted in _massive_ House Points lost and three weeks of detention with Filtch for the student).

Severus was actually quite pleased with his reclamation of his classroom within the first few minutes of each class. The little blighters had had an entire weekend to stew and run free with what had happened at the Halloween Ball. He was still unsure of how to deal with the aftermath, mainly because of the conflicting view points that could have been perceived from what had transpired.

There of course were the weaknesses. First there was the proof that he could be diverted by his wife. No one had ever been able to take him away from guarding the punch bowl from the pranksters that always seemed to slip something into it before the night was over. Although now that the War was over he was less worried about putting Hermione in danger of being affected negatively by his attentions than he would have been had the War still being fought. Although if he really had to admit it to himself, just the fact they were married and now she was carrying his children put her at risk from those still out to get back at him, from both sides.

No the ability to be diverted by his own wife for a single dance was not what bothered him the most; it was the fact that he had fainted. He had always prided himself on his ability to hide his emotions, especially the strong ones, with perhaps the exceptions of hate and anger. Ever since he had begun to come into contact with Hermione, from the very beginning that ability with her had begun to slip. At first he had been angry with himself at being so weak, but she was eventually able to break through his walls and show him a wonderful world of friendship that could be had with her. He had had friendly acquaintances before hand and was on if not positive at least not negative ground with most of his fellow teachers, well that had been before the War. Things were a bit different now, but at least they didn't provoke him and he did the same in return… most of the time, though admittedly the occasional Hero Boy Baiting was entertaining.

But that wasn't the point, the point was that he had let his emotions get away from him and allowed the rest of the world to see how very much his wife moved him. Before his marriage and his time with Hermione he would have immediately blamed it on her and have been done with it. But things weren't that 'easy' anymore. He could not blame such a thing on Hermione. Although he did not exactly approve of the place she had told him of her pregnancy, he could also understand how it had been impossible for her to keep such a thing silent. With a sigh he realized how very much his wife's Gryffindor nature had rubbed off on him. Although he had to admit that he had been doing a rather good job at Slytherinizing her. He had noticed that there were things in her teaching style that had changed from her first year to something more subtle in her manner of teaching.

Severus decided that he would have to do some damage control with the student body. He decided that the fastest way to make the children forget what they had been musing upon in their free time was to reduce said free time to as short a span as possible. Actual he felt that he had done quite a good job at it. There was nothing but complaints from the entire student body about the homework load. He also had an all out assault upon the House Points of the other three Houses as well, deciding that such an assault would keep his colleges at bay as well. What he really hadn't counted on was the comment made by one of his own house! How dare it be insinuated that he wasn't getting enough sex and that was the cause for his ill temper! His ill temper had absolutely nothing to do with his sex life! It had to do with having to deal with the multitude of students trying to kill him and everyone else in the castle! Not to mention his own house's inability at subtly. Some Slytherin indeed! He hoped that at least he had taught the young boy a lesson in keeping his mouth shut, at least when in the presence of a teacher!

The other side to the coin though, was the strengths he had displayed at the ball as well. He had more than enjoyed the shocked look on the student's faces when he had escorted Hermione out onto the dance floor and had displayed her as he had been taught. He had never much enjoyed dancing with anyone, seeing as his lessons had been beat into him from a young age that was no surprise. But what had been a pleasant surprise was the fact that he really did enjoy dancing with Hermione, showing off his beautiful wife and knowing that she was all his at the end of the night, that she would come with him willingly back to his bed and share her love and smiles with him. He figured that he would have to find another way to dance with her more often. Though this could also be seen as a weakness, that he was going soft, he really felt that it was something that he could learn to deal with if it meant that it would make Hermione happy.

He had found that making and keeping his wife happy paid off in the end, and not just in the bedroom, but in his everyday life as well. He found that he just enjoyed making sure that she was happy. The smile and laugh of a woman was something he had scarcely seen or heard most of his life. Many times it was not positive, but that he was the bunt of a joke, usually from the Marauders. Now that he was able to cause Hermione's gentle laughter and join in, he was more than happy to cause a reason for her to smile or laugh in his direction. He found that her laugh was like a salve for his (now much less) broken soul and her smile like a bandage to seal closed his wounds.

He was also quite proud of the fact that his wife was pregnant and pregnant with twins no less. Even though he was quite well aware that the fact that she was pregnant with twins, really in a way laid with Hermione's own body releasing two different eggs at the same time, it still stroked his male ego to know that he was the father of the children within her womb. Of course there was no question about the paternity of Hermione's children, but just the fact that he knew that he had fathered two children with her after so long of fearing that they would be unable to conceive even one child was exhilarating. There was also the fact that he was the only one with a wife expecting two children, none of the other men had been able to get their wives pregnant with twins, even though he was the last to get his wife pregnant.

All in all Severus felt that he had handled the whole situation quite well, even though there was such a stretch of time between the occurrence and the inception of damage control measures. Even the part of the conversation the next day that would soon result in him being 'forced' to spend more time with Potter than he would have really liked (i.e. meals, staff meetings, passing in the halls).

Normally there was a celebration for Christmas and then again at New Years at the Weasley's home, 'the Burrow'. He had always been invited as a member of the Order, with the obvious exceptions being the time after killing Dumbledore and his stint in Azkaban, not that he actually even went to the event. There were actually quite a few people still in the Order that still hated, or at least disliked him with great gusto because he carried out Dumbledore's final order. But it seemed that most had been able to put their dislike aside after the inception of the Marriage Law and his subsequent marriage to Hermione. Now that he was married to Hermione it seemed inevitable that he would have to attend the gathering. Even though he did not want to go, he felt that it was important that he be present with is wife, even though he disliked most of the people who were to be present. Besides he figured that he would be unable to find some sort of excuse to bow out 'gracefully' now that he was married, to one of the 'Golden Trio' nonetheless. He had just begun to work on being 'ok' with the idea of going to a party when Hermione brought it up.

"Severus." She had said one evening as she reclined against him, they had taken to reclining on the couch together in the evenings. Severus would sit on one end and Hermione would lay her head in his lap, many times Severus would absently run his fingers through her hair as he read or just enjoyed the closeness.

"Yes?" He asked looking down into her eyes from the book he had been reading.

"I have been wondering what is going on at Christmas this year." She said. "Normally I go to the Burrow for Christmas and it would seem that last year at least, you felt the need to grade papers on Christmas. Perhaps… well I was wondering… I was wondering if you would actually come with me to the Burrow this year. I mean I will understand if you don't want to go, but I have been assured that we are both invited and it would be a shame for us both to spend our first Christmas apart."

"Never fear Hermione." Severus said. "I was planning on actually going this year. I have been invited every year anyways since I can remember, but I have never gone. I will not make you face your friends alone, I will come."

"Thank you." She smiled up at him, reaching up with her hand to lightly stroke his cheek and the underside of his chin. Severus caught her hand and placed a kiss on her palm. "I think it will do you some good to get out more."

"You're welcome." He told her softly. "But I do not make any promises that I will enjoy myself."

Hermione chuckled softly at this. "You will never change will you? Always determined to disagree when faced with a party."

"Have to keep up appearances after all." He smirked.

"Wouldn't want anyone to think you are having a good time now would we?" She smiled. "I mean if they did, then you might actually get invited to more parties."

"And that would be a tragedy." He finished for her. "It would severely cut into my dunderhead free time." Hermione just smiled and lightly shook her head. "Besides." Severus continued. "I could not possibly let my own flesh and blood be sent all alone into a house full of Gryffindors unprotected from all the valor and rashness." He said airily with a grin as he let his hand wander down to rest below her navel where Hermione's pregnancy paunch was becoming evident in her looser 'everyday' robes. "I have to at least be there to assure that there is something other than just Gryffindor influences being absorbed by our little ones."

"Least you forget," she told him with an eyebrow raised. "That you are married to and have impregnated the Head of the Gryffindor House. It is probably already a lost cause for any Slytherins in this relationship." She ran her hand up and down his white silk clad arm with a light smile playing on her lips as she looked up at him.

"But I am Head of Slytherin, least you forget my wayward lioness. So I believe that in this we are at least equal. I have to worry about the fact that you interact with Hero Boy all the time and you should probably take into account my abilities that I perfected during my time as a spy. I suspect that there is an equal chance that our children would be in one of our Houses. Although sending my unborn to face a house filled with Gryffindors with out my 'protection' seems a bit too risky to me." He looked just a bit too much like the cat who had indulged in a whole bowl of cream.

"You are quite pathetic, you know that." Hermione laughed lightly. "You could have just said you wanted to come with me to be _with_ me. Not the whole 'protecting your young' thing. Not that the thought behind it isn't appreciated." She smiled. "Giving a straight answer really won't kill you, I promise."

"You perhaps." He acknowledged, "But as Head of Slytherin I must be a good role model." He told her airily and was rewarded by a laughing snort of indignation from Hermione.

Very soon the term was over and all of the students went home for the holidays. Normally there were at least one or two children that would stay at the school, but now, nearly four years after Voldemort's defeat every surviving person still wanted to be near their loved ones at the holidays, so much so that no one remained behind for the holiday break. Even if there had been students staying there would have been a few teachers still on the premises, seeing as a few had made Hogwarts their permanent home. Ron and Lavender as well as Neville and Shannon had no other property that they owned or inherited so they called the castle grounds home. Harry and Ginny went to 12 Grimmauld Place and Lupin, who commuted to work anyways, stayed at home with Tonks for the holiday season. Hermione and Severus Flooed back to Snape Manor leaving Prince and Lucy at the school, there was no point in brining them when the weather was so uncooperative and they would be busy elsewhere.

Hermione had insisted when they had arrived at home that they should decorate, even if they were not inviting anyone over. Severus had merely sighed his accent in something akin to resignation and contentment. It would be nice to have the house decorated for the season, even if he could never remember his father ever allowing it to happen. After informing the house elves of their desire for decorations Severus had been surprised the next morning when he and Hermione descended the stairs for breakfast.

It seemed that the house elves had gone way beyond all out. As soon as he had opened their bedroom suite door they were hit with the smell of pine, almost as if there was suddenly a pine forest growing in the house. The main staircase banister was encircled in a long garland of pine boughs with a string of berries and holly leaves intertwined among the needles, some of the holly leaves appeared to have been painted silver or gold as an accent. This included the column at the ends of the banister as well. Around the doors were draped similar garlands with silver, gold and red glass balls also added. Above all of the door ways were simple yet beautiful arrangements of pine boughs to look almost like a fan with the holly at the base in the middle. In one corner of the ball room stood a large decorated Christmas tree, while in the smaller parlor stood a smaller yet still impressive Christmas tree. This one was not decorated, but beside the tree stood the chest that had always seemed to hold so much Christmas magic to Hermione. It was an old battered sailor's chest, but it was what her family had always used for their Christmas decorations. It was one of the few things she had kept as a memory of her parents and her childhood. She had always believed it to be bigger when she was a child, but even though it had shrunk in comparative size as she grew it had always been filled to the brim with happy Christmas memories.

"What is this?" Severus asked when they entered the small parlor, viewing the battered chest with curiosity.

"It is my family's old Christmas decorations." Hermione sighed with a smile. "It seems that the house elves knew of my family's things, I don't know how, I had them shrunk and stuck in a cabinet."

"Well, my house elves are very perceptive." Severus said with a smirk.

"You told them didn't you?"

"I may have something to do with them knowing where the decorations were, but as to why they are not on the tree is a mystery to me."

"Will you help me put the decorations on?" Hermione asked, moving out of his embrace and towards the chest. "It was one of my family's traditions at the holidays. We would always do it together."

"Well I am glad that you had happy memories of Christmas." He said rather darkly, almost as if he didn't realize that he had said it out loud.

"I am sorry that you don't have very many happy memories about the holiday season. This year we can change that." She told him grabbing his hand and giving it a light tug. "Would you help me decorate the tree? I am sure that it is something that you would enjoy." Severus did not say much after that but did help hang the decorations from the trunk on to the tree. Hermione would tell him about memories that went along with each of the items they pulled from the chest. Severus, though he would never admit to it, had a good time and enjoyed learning about his wife's childhood in that manner. Soon they had the tree decorated and then they had sat down for something more akin to brunch or lunch than breakfast.

The few days before Christmas seemed to fly by. Severus and Hermione spent most of the time together. Much of the time in the library, which had also been decorated, but not as heavily as the rest of the house. The now nearly full grown Phoenix also took up residence in the library as that is where their companions seemed to stay the most. Hermione and Severus spent most of their time grading papers, reading and researching together. Severus also spent some time down in the lab experimenting, but he resolutely refused to let Hermione experiment with him while she was pregnant. (He also had full intentions of telling her she couldn't come down when she was nursing as well, but he figured he wouldn't push it quite yet.) He had no intention of letting Hermione or their unborn children being affected adversely by some freak Potions accident and this was not something he was going to bend on.

They had spent a weekend near the end of term in Diagon Alley and London buying Christmas presents; well actually Severus followed Hermione around more than doing shopping. He really didn't have anyone to exchange presents with and the required gift to their hostess would be covered by something Hermione would pick out and deliver to Molly when they arrived at the door. So all he really had to do was buy presents for Hermione, which he had managed to do under her nose. His entire shopping endeavor had been to visit the apothecaries in the ally and a few muggle drug stores to replenish and update his personal and home ingredient stores as well as making himself a permanent fixture in the bookstore along side he wife. He though, had managed to slip away and pick up a small package from a small inconspicuous store at the far end of Diagon Alley that he had visited a few days after he had learned of Hermione's pregnancy.

Soon it was Christmas Eve and it found Severus and Hermione reclining against each other on the couch before a fire in the smaller parlor; Hermione nestled between Severus' knees and her back against his chest while Severus rested his arm around her. Severus was nursing a Firewhisky and Hermione was sipping Gillywater out of a wine flute. Severus was enjoying the fact that he would no longer be alone on Christmas and the weight and warmth of Hermione against him was pleasing. He looked around the now cozy parlor and thought about what he had been doing the year before. He still did have the sixth and seventh year papers to correct, but he was no longer worried about them. He knew that he would be able to get them done in time as well as knowing he would have to accept Hermione's help down in the lab to manage to get all of the requested hangover relief and sober up Potions done before the new year. He was finally content with his life.

Looking at the tree in the corner he still could not help but smile, knowing that a few of the gifts under the tree were for him and some that he had wrapped for Hermione. There was a box off beside the tree that held all of Hermione's gifts to her friends and would be going with them to the Burrow when they went in the morning. When he asked why she did not just send them ahead she had sited the fact she did not trust the boys not to look, smart girl. Beckoning at one of the packages beneath the tree he deftly caught it in his hand. Hermione looked up at him in curiosity as he gently took her glass from her hand and placed it on the floor next to the sofa. He gently put the small package in her hand.

"What is this?" Hermione asked looking at the small gold box with silver ribbon in her hand.

"A Christmas present." He said.

"Well that much is obvious." She said with a smile, "but I guess I should have asked what I am to do with it."

"I was under the impression that when someone gives you a present you are to open it." He said with a straight face. "I am sure that you have had presents before in your life. I thought I would give this to you tonight before we went off to the Burrow tomorrow." He told her. Hermione smiled up at him.

She made short work of the bow, slipping it off the box and then opened it. Carefully reaching inside she drew out a delicate gold chain. From the chain hung what appeared to be something like a charm ring, where more could be added as time went by, from the ring already hung two charms, separated by a silver bead. Both looked like little people. They had clear round stones for their head and then one had a triangle clear stone for the body and the other had a square. Each had little chain 'arms' and 'legs' of delicate 'bead chain'.

"It is something I thought you might like." He whispered in her ear. "Each pendent represents one of our children. The heads of the pendants will change to be the color of the month that they are born in, while the bodies of the pendants will change to the color corresponding to their house once they are sorted." He told her. "Now you can always have them close to your heart, even when they are off playing or in class."

"It is beautiful." She said. "I will certainly wear it tomorrow when we go to the Burrow. But Severus, don't you think it is a bit early to thinking about our children going to school already, I mean I am still only in my second Trimester so far. Don't go buying the cart before the horses." She laughed lightly.

"I didn't." he said a bit gruffly but in jest. "See here," he said pointing, "I only bought two pendants so far, I didn't feel the need to try my hand at Divinations and predict what our next child will be. I will buy the next appropriate pendant when the time comes."

Hermione shook her head with a laugh. "Oh Severus, you really are a piece of work. I am so lucky to have you as a husband. I love you so much, it is a wonderful present although I must admit that I am only slightly less eager than you to make you go out and buy another pendent for this necklace. I certainly think that having two babies at one time is more than enough for me. I would not want to try to add another to my present condition, I can't believe that there will be enough room for two babies before this is all over, much less a third."

Severus merely chuckled and leaned down to kiss her. "Come along love, we need to get you to bed, there will be a long day tomorrow." He helped her up and placed the small opened package with the necklace inside back under the tree to be retrieved in the morning. Leading her up to bed he hugged her close and cradled her in his arms as they both fell asleep.

Early the next morning Hermione and Severus woke early and showered and dressed for the day. Then they ate a light breakfast and then sat in the parlor to open presents. Hermione had received not only the necklace, but a few books, and a gift certificate to an upscale London spa, which Hermione was extremely pleased with. Severus got a few books, a new pair of dragonhide gloves and Hermione had managed to find a more advanced muggle chemistry set along with a beginners level chemistry book she had bought. Normally being given a bright colorful box with children printed on it would have given Severus a reason to frown, but upon looking through the directions and the book Severus was pleased by comparing and learning the differences between the muggle and Wizarding view of the physical world, even if it was on a rudimentary level. He vowed that he would be looking deeper into this subject called chemistry later.

Once all the presents were opened and Hermione and Severus had put their things away, Hermione had gathered together the last few things that she needed to leave. Severus helped by shrinking down the small mound of presents and put them in his cloak pocket, and then he helped Hermione into her cloak. He extended a smile and a slight bow to the portrait of his mother over the fireplace in the main entrance way, wishing her a merry Christmas before he wrapped his arms protectively around Hermione. With a pop they apparated to the edge of the Snape Manor property, and then walking a few feet so they were off the property they apparated again and found themselves just outside the stone wall of the Weasley family residence. Quickly separating Severus and Hermione hurried towards the door and into the promised warmth of the house.

Entering the front door of the house they were immediately assaulted with a large amount of noise, warmth and mouth watering smells of Christmas dinner. Harry was the first to investigate the opening and closing of the door, most likely sent by Ginny. She was beginning to become unwieldy near the end of her eight month of pregnancy and preferred to stay as sedentary as she could manage between the frequent pilgrimages to the loo. Severus helped Hermione out of her cloak and then handed her the shrunken box of presents. Harry had roused everyone's attention to the fact that they had arrived and then had come forward to give Hermione a hug of welcome. He even went so far as to extend his hand to Severus to shake, which after a moment of hesitation Severus did so. Molly soon heard the commotion and instructed both Severus and Hermione into the living room to mingle as dinner was just a few minutes from being served. The main reason Molly had not cornered any of the women into the kitchen, other than the fact that all save Molly would be pregnant and there would have been very little room to move around all the bellies, was the fact that Harry had managed to convince Mrs. Weasley that she really could 'borrow' one of his two house elves for the occasion of such a large family gathering. Because of the help Molly was really just supervising the last bits of the place settings and overburdening the table with as much food as she possibly could.

Severus was not quite sure how he should feel as he entered into the loud and cramped world of the Burrow and essentially 'becoming a Weasley' as he had married Hermione who was practically a Weasley herself. He had steeled himself early on for the prospect and facts of having to interact in some sort of social situation with many of the children he had terrorized, I mean taught and now worked with a few of them. He had managed to do so with reasonably good success, especially now that he had Hermione by his side. Upon entering into the living room area he was presented with a room he swore was going to over flow. In the corner there was a reasonably decorated tree that appeared to be supported by a large mound of presents which Hermione crossed over to and began to add the presents she had brought. Along one wall was a couch that must have been extend for there were five pregnant women sitting on it, Severus wondered vaguely why the whole thing just didn't snap in the middle under their combined weight. The twins had married the Patil twins; Ron had married Lavender and Harry to Ginny of course. The other chairs in the room were taken up by the other halves of the couples. The twins were over in a corner talking seemingly conspiratorially with Ron, most likely on something more or new for their joke shop. Severus felt lucky that Hermione had informed him that they were under a wizard's oath that they could not test out any of their new inventions at family gatherings during the holidays. Arthur Weasley sat next to the fireplace and was fiddling with something that Severus assumed was muggle because he didn't recognize it. Harry seemed to have claimed a seat near him, evidently trying to explain whatever the device was and what it did.

Hermione had placed the presents beneath the tree and had greeted each of the occupants of the room with a hug or at least a hand shake in the case of the women as most were disinclined to rise from where they were with their feet up. The men all came forward and shook Severus' hand and Arthur managed to pat him on the back in a 'man hug' while they shook hands. Just as Hermione thought of trying to find a seat and Severus was a bit uncomfortable due to the before mentioned 'man hug', Molly swept into the room and gave Hermione a hug and Severus a warm greeting before she nearly ordered everyone into the kitchen for Christmas dinner.

Upon entering the usually crowded kitchen, even when all the Weasley's children were young, Hermione was amazed to find that they were not all crammed into the tiny room like sardines. She was pleasantly surprised to find that no only could she have a bit of elbowroom, but she could also sit back and still have room for someone to pass behind her chair. She knew that the Weasleys most definitely must have extended the room by magic or something of that nature, or else there would have been no room for fourteen people. It was a brief thought that also crossed Hermione's mind at the same time… how were they going to fit everyone's families into this cramped and already fairly over crowded kitchen in a year or two when there were young children to include in the mix as well. But she did not spare it much thought as she was reminded of how very hungry she now was with all of Mrs. Weasley's fine cooking in front of her.

Severus was pleasantly surprised by the topics and easy flow of conversation around the table. Even though he did more listening than talking, he would begrudgingly admit later that he had had a good time at the meal. He though did have to give Molly a very scolding look as she tried to pile his plate high with a third helping of everything. If he didn't see her trying to do the same to everyone within her reach he would have sworn she was looking to double his weight, and even then he had his theories. It had worked out the men sat predominately at one end of the table and the women at the other, but he would not hear of sitting anywhere but beside Hermione, which worked out well as she would add interesting thoughts to the men's conversations, much less so than to the women's.

The meal and conversation lasted much longer than Severus could have ever imagined. Normally he went to meals and sat for as long as was required to ingest enough food for his daily nutritional needs. Now that he was married to Hermione he did find that he would spend more time sitting at the table beyond the time that it actually took to eat, talking about what was to occur during the rest of the day. What he had not thought possible was the fact that they had started the meal at noon and they were all still sitting at the table at nearly four in the afternoon, munching on pies and popcorn with still no sign of actually getting up any time soon. Severus was also pleasantly surprised that he did not actually mind the fact that he was interacting in a 'friendly' manner with the people around him. So this was what it was like to be part of a family, or extended family, a good family. He found that he could actually begin to sort of like it.

Eventually there was a call to open presents by someone and the whole group moved in mass to the living room. This caused an interesting situation as there were really not enough places for everyone to sit. Severus decided he did not want to sit on the floor and so he decided to conjure himself up a large comfortable chair to sit beside the door. Just before Hermione was about to sit next to the Christmas tree on the floor he beckoned her over with a wave of his hand.

"Come her Hermione." He told her a bit sternly. "I will not have my pregnant wife sitting on the floor when I have a say about it."

Hermione looked at him with a slightly questioning look in her eyes, but came to stand beside him nonetheless. "So what is this about Severus?" She asked him as she came to stand beside his chair. "What are you going to do about the fact that you only conjured one chair?" The others in the room looked on in curious, near amusement, wondering what was going to happen next.

"This." He said quite simply. As he reached out his hand maneuvered her until she stood in front of him. Then with a light push and pull he turned her so that she was facing away from him. Then with a light tug at her waist, he pulled her down to sit on his lap with a surprised grunt. She looked back at his face with a surprised smile on her face and a light question in her eyes.

"Is it such a crime to want to hold my wife on Christmas?" He whispered in her ear as he settled her on his lap. She merely smiled and ran her hand along his jaw for a moment before she let her main attention drift back to the others around them. Most looked entirely surprised by the fact that Severus had actually displayed some sort of PDA beyond his usual gentlemen's manners around Hermione. Severus could not help but give a small smirk at the absolute surprise that was written on all the faces around him. After a few moments of enjoying having those all assembled look almost scandalized by his actions, Severus broke the silence an overly loud stage whisper. "You would think that none of them have ever seen a thoughtful husband before." He laid a light kiss on her cheek and was just a bit too overjoyed to see as at least most of the younger generation looked rather uncomfortable at that.

Almost as if she had come out of a trance Molly began to hand out the presents from beneath the tree to hand around to their new owners and soon everyone was talking and laughing together again. Severus had to admit that he really did have a good time, even though he did have to change his seat from a single chair into a love seat after a while so that he could once again regain circulation in his legs. He still loved to have Hermione sitting close or on his lap, but the fact that she had already put on about twenty pounds for her pregnancy, did not sit well with blood flow to his lower extremities for long periods of time with her on his lap.

It was long past dark when Hermione and Severus finally got their things together and went home. Severus was not quite sure how he should take the fact that he seemed to be now an official Weasley family member, as he was now the … 'proud?'… owner of a Weasley sweater, in Slytherin green and sliver of course, with a pair of S's across the front. Hermione got her red sweater as well only instead of last year's HG she had HS knitted on the front. Severus had a vague and fleeting notion that Molly knitted the sweaters with initials just so she could keep her own brood straight and wondered if Hermione would take up knitting to do the same thing. They were required to have six kids under law after all. He wasn't quite sure if it was a stroke of genius or madness on the part of Molly and decided that he would not think about it until such an occasion presented itself and could not be ignored.

It seemed that it was also a Weasley family tradition in Severus' mind to send every family member not staying at the house (and in his mind who would want to be stacked literally three or four deep, but… anyways), to send them away with a tin of cookies, fudge and brindle the sized of a bread box. He quickly found that trying to refuse such an offer was not only futile but seemed to encourage her to only give them more. He was quickly rescued by Hermione with a soft hand on his arm and a smiled thank you from her to Molly. They decided that they were going to Floo home instead of apparating as it was very dark and cold and they didn't feel like dealing with such weather. With a final good bye they bundled up and walked together into the fireplace and Severus called "Snape Manor" as he held Hermione tight.

Soon they were stepping out of the large stone fireplace and into the dimly lit entrance hall. Getting most of the filth and soot off of each other they hung up their outerwear. Just as they were finishing hanging things up the house elf Lola appeared at their feet, bowing low.

"Master there is someone here to see you sir." She squeaked almost fearfully. "He insisted that he wait for you in the parlor sir."

"Who would come calling at such a late hour on Christmas?" Hermione asked both Severus and Lola.

"It is Master Malfoy, Misteress." Lola said wringing her small hands. "He has been waiting in the parlor for nearly an hour. I have provided him with tea and cookies, but he grows impatient. Lola has done the best she can Sir, yes she has, but he is not happy with me Master, not happy at all! Lola will have to iron her fingers she will." The poor little house elf looked as though she was going to start running into walls in front of them or burst into tears because she felt she had failed. Hermione had been trying to convince the house elves that she worked with more regularly that they didn't have to punish themselves quite so much, but it seemed to no avail.

Deciding that tears form his house elves on Christmas would not do Severus quickly stepped into Lola's own personal conversation and tried to avert disaster. "It is good that you have told me Lola. I order you not to punish yourself for Mister Malfoy's discomfort. He is rarely content with what he has, and it is no fault of your own. Please bring more tea into the parlor, Hermione and I will be sitting in there a while it would seem."

"Yes Master, thank you Master, Lola will do that Master." She said bowing so low that Hermione swore she would bang her head upon the stone floor and disappeared with a pop.

"You can beg yourself away and I would understand." Severus said turning to Hermione as she looked a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation. "I can not as I am his Godfather after all."

"No, I am Misteress of the house and I will go and meet my guest, not matter how unsavory I find him." She said bravely.

"Always the Gryffindor." He said with a light smile and laying a light kiss upon her lips. "Come then, let us greet our visitor and send him on his way before it is too late. I am sure that he has much better things to do than disturb our Christmas." Offering out his arm she took it and he lead her rather formally into the small parlor where they had exchanged presents earlier that day.

Upon entering the parlor Hermione was greeted by the site of Draco seeming to be browsing the few books on the shelves of the parlor. Most were light or non serious readings as most of the books for research or their more favorite readings were upstairs in the library. She was not happy at all to see him. The last time she had to interact with him had been when he had tried to force a second dance from her a few months before, when the Marriage Law was first instigated.

"Good evening Draco." Severus said entering the parlor with Hermione on his arm, setting her down on center of the sofa and then sitting beside her. He put his arm around her and effectively taking up as much room as was possible on the couch as to force Draco to sit across from them in a chair. Draco seemed to notice this forcing of placings and sat without any comment besides a furrowing of his brow when looking at them both. Severus was in his regular black attire and not quite so billowy robes and Hermione was in a pair of muggle jeans with her Weasley sweater, doing nothing to hide the small swell of her stomach as she was sitting. Severus had refused to wear his sweater even though most of the others had been wearing theirs, on the premise that he had not mellowed enough to endure to wear such a thing, at least not in such a public setting as with many of his fellow teachers.

Draco surveyed them with what seemed like a critical eye and then sat down in a chair across from them. "Good evening Godfather." He said a bit stonily. "Where have you been off too? You never seemed to be someone to party."

"I am not, but one must make concessions when married and sometimes there are pleasant surprises along the way." He said tightening his grip on Hermione's shoulder for a moment. "But what brings you here Draco so late on a night like this? Don't you have a pregnant wife to attend to yourself?"

"I do as I please and my mudblood wife can fend for herself." Draco sneered. "Soon enough this stupid law will be repealed and we can all find appropriate wives, to carry on the Pureblood lines."

"You will not use that word in my home." Severus said with an edge of sharp iron in his voice. "And I am more than content with my wife. It is time that some new blood was incorporated into many of the old lines. Besides, I am sure that you are well aware of the fact that even Voldemort was in fact a Halfblood himself." Draco scowled at this but made no comment. "Besides, even if this law is repealed, there is no way that you can change wives willy-nilly. And I am quite certain that the Ministry has not sanctioned murder in the last few months either."

Hermione watched as Draco scowled deeply at this comment. It seemed that he was looking for a sympathizer with Severus, but was being sourly disappointed by his lack of agreement with him. Now that the War was over and it was widely known that Severus was a spy for Dumbledore, he no longer had to go along with anything that he felt was against what he believed.

"What brings you here tonight?" Severus asked after a moment under Draco's unforgiving eye. He did not lesson the iron of annoyance in his voice while talking to him. "My wife and I were planning on retiring for the evening when we returned. We have had a long day." Severus told him.

"Well I came to talk, but seeing as we have very little in common anymore I guess I shall be going." He said with a slight sneer rising from the chair. "Guess I will show myself out. Good evening Godfather, I had hoped for better from you, but I guess I am to be disappointed."

"You are not the only one to be disappointed then I guess." Severus commented, giving Draco a hard stare that he usually reserved for the misbehaving charges in his house. Draco seemed unfazed then walked from the room. Severus was sure to send one of the house elves to see him to the door and hand him his coat to make sure that he actually left.

"Well that was not a pleasant way to end an otherwise perfect day." Hermione scowled. About this time was when the tea arrived and Lola looked a distraught that she did not have it sooner so as not to miss Draco. Severus sent her away with instructions that she couldn't punish herself because of it.

"I can agree." Severus agreed with her. "I am just glad that seems to be over with." He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "At least we won't have to worry about him for a good long while."

"What about his talk about his wife. Do you think that he will kill her?" She asked with a shudder, snuggling closer for warmth and reassurance.

"That I can not be sure of, but I don't think that he will, at least not yet if he plans on it. He must at least make some sort of what looks like to be a good faith effort. He will be under the Ministry's eye if he doesn't. I think that she is safe for now. But let us not worry about such things right now." He told her. "I think that perhaps a cup of coco is in order and perhaps a chess game or two. I can't see our tradition being changed for just a small thing as the fact we are now married."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh lightly into his chest as such an offer. She couldn't help but think he sounded similar to her almost three years before when she had coaxed him into their first chess matches and now here he was doing it for her. "Well, when you put it that way…" she chuckled. "I suppose I can't refuse you."

"Good." Severus grunted, looking far too proud of himself. "I will have the house elves set everything up in the library for us. I am sure that we can also find a way to lessen that load of cookies that was sent home with us as well."

"You know just what to do to fix things." Hermione smiled as he rose and held out his hand to her, after he had instructed another one of the house elves to set things up for them.

"It is my pleasure to do so for you my lady, my pleasure." He bowed just slightly as he helped her to her feet.

"I love you." She said to him and gave him a kiss. "I am so glad that you come for me."

"And so am I." He conceded as he lead her up the stairs to thoroughly trounce her in a game of chess. "Although you can't expect me to give you any mercy on the chess board."

"I wouldn't dream of it." She laughed lightly. "I wouldn't dream of it."

**A/N: alright everyone, that is the end of this chapter. I hope that you all liked it. I know I enjoyed writing it, even though it took me much longer than I actually wanted to do so. I have been busy, sheep shorn, garden planted, job hunt and now baby chicks to take care of! I will have my own fresh eggs next year YEAH!!! Nothing like a truly fresh eggs instead of what you buy in the store… anyways I really am back to the task at hand. **

**The next chapter is going to be a Draco chapter. I don't know how long it will be before I will post, I am hoping before the end of the month. I have started it but I am not quite sure how long the chapter will be because I am not sure how much I want to put into it. I will sort of let this chapter lead itself and come to its own logical conclusion as it is written. Because it is going to be a Draco chapter I am well aware that many of you don't like how he is treating his wife, but never fear, I will be rectifying it soon enough. I won't let Draco be getting away with too much more before he gets what he deserves. **

**As always I must thank my wonderful beta and fan fic sis, **Skydancinghobbit **for helping me not push the envelope of Severus' character too far over the line as well as listening to me whine about … stuff. **

**Thanks to all my loyal readers who have stuck with me so far with my long pauses between chapters. I love you all for your dedication and a big cyber hug goes out to everyone who has reviewed. They certainly make me happy and help to keep the creative juices flowing. Thanks everyone. Drop me a review to let me know what you think of my writing. Live, Laugh, Love- Dragons Quill**


	19. All the Ingredients Acquired

**A/N: Hi all!! I know it has been almost a month since I posted last and I am sorry. I havew just been soo busy! I finally have a job! Ok well, its temporary and until the end of the summer, but still… I will have money again!!!! Anyways, I am so glad that you have all stuck with me and my long dry spells between updates! I am so glad that you guys have stuck with me, I give you all a really big cyber hug!**

**As an aside I would like to remind the readers that as much as you would like to strangle, fillet, or otherwise mangle Draco… that you can't he is an important part of the plot and must be left in one piece, for the time being at least. Trust me, he will get his for treating his wife as he has. I know I will have too much fun with that chapter!!! And I am sure there are a few of you that are thinking the same thing. I really would like to get my hands on him for what he has done already, but I can't, at least not yet. I know I am waiting quite eagerly for the day I can get a hold of him. then I shall turn the pieces of what is left over to you all who would like to 'have a word' or three with him. **

**Anyways, now that I have babbled enough, it is on to the next chapter!! Yea!!! **

Chapter 19

_All the Ingredients Acquired_

Draco was rather restless on Christmas. He woke alone as usual, his wife having her own chambers; he only entered there when he wanted something. This was no different than many of his Christmases since his father had been Kissed and his mother sentenced to rot in Azkaban. He was a bit sorry that he did not have any family to gather with and the few friends that he still had would also be spending time with their parents. He was quite alone. He took his morning meal in his chambers and puttered around thinking of different ways he would get his hands on the last things he needed to complete the Potion. Finally about mid day he felt that he was more than entitled to have his wife on Christmas and spent a good portion of the afternoon having his way with her. She had complied with little problem, she had learned early on that it would do her no good. Finally after he had amused himself enough to be satisfied, he spent some time drinking in his bathrobe before his hearth, after a shower. After mulling over his problems with the ingredients he finally had a stroke of inspiration. What better way than to go visiting was there to acquire the ingredient he could get nowhere else?

After he had eaten a hearty Christmas dinner he bundled himself up and apparated to the edge of the Snape lands. He did not believe that Severus and Hermione would be out of the house. He did not think that Severus would have been caught dead dealing with the Potters or Weasleys if he could help it. After a quick Floo call to Hogwarts had uncovered the fact that they were staying at Snape Manor for the holidays, Draco assumed that Severus and Hermione would have been in the Manor and alone. Upon arriving at the clearing at the edge of the Snape lands, he began his trek across the snow covered pathways until he could not see in front of himself. Then he conjured a bright lantern to light his way through the night so he could get to the Manor. Trudging through the quickly darkening, calm yet cold dusk he finally made it to the house by the time the sun had been down for nearly a half hour. He had managed to walk the straight line quarter mile in about forty five minutes with the snow being rather deep.

When he arrived at the front door and knocking he was astonished to not only see that most of the windows on the outside of the house were not lit, but that the house elf that answered the door informed him that the Master and Misteress of the Manor were out, to a party nonetheless. He could barely comprehend the fact that the little mudblood had managed to get the reclusive Potions Master out of his dungeons and back to his ancestral home, but out to a party!? He could only assume that it would involve the others from the 'Golden Trio' as well. He suspected that if he waited he might be able to catch Severus in a bad mood after being forced to interact with some of his most hated former students and now colleagues. He insisted that the house elf allow him in and bring him some tea to warm up and to wait for Severus' return. He hadn't really thought too far ahead when it came to the actual acquiring of the Phoenix feather he would need, but he figured that he would be able to charm his way into getting Severus to part with one. He was his father's son after all, and had plenty of the Malfoy fineness and persuasive qualities, and what had not been breed into him he had been a quick study to.

Draco easily passed the first few minutes of his waiting sitting in the parlor and drinking his hot tea and the fine cookies made by Severus' house elves. He had used a warming charm on his trek from the edge of the Manor lands, but that still did not stop all of the cold air that had managed to find its way through his layers of clothing. The tea provided was adequate to enough to warm him to a tolerable temperature again and provide him with an amount of 'free time' with which to ponder the lack of hosts on his visit to the Snape Manor. He was amazed that it seemed that Severus would allow Hermione to keep him out of the house and engaged at a party for as long as she had. It seemed obvious to Draco that they had been gone for some time as the hearth in the entrance way was let burn low (though no so low as to bar entrance from those who knew the wards to Floo into that particular hearth) and most of the other rooms were not lit at all. It seemed that the occupants of the house had been gone for at least the afternoon if not longer.

After Draco had finished his cup of tea he glanced around the room more thoroughly from where he sat. He took in the fact that there was a Christmas tree in the parlor as well as the fact that the whole of the house seemed to have been decorated. This seemed a bit out of character for the Potions Master in his opinion. For as long as Draco had known Severus he was aware that he was not into frivolities and seemed to just tolerate them in other people. Draco then rose from his seat on the sofa and went to the tree. There was nothing beneath it except for the stand and what appeared to be a quilted tree skirt with tree patterns quilted into the design. Looking at the rest of the tree he was astonished to find that many of the objects on the tree were certainly not of Wizarding origin, but appeared to be made of colored plastic, clearly muggle in make. He was both fascinated and disgusted at the same time. He found that the little plastic items were eye catching, making him wonder what some of the shapes represented. He was also disgusted by the fact that they were muggle things. He could not possibly believe that Severus has seemingly allowed this to also occur. He was not one to give ground, nor was he one to suffer such foolish immersion not only to so non Pureblood as muggle Christmas decorations, but what seemed so out of character for him was that the tree and the other decorations were around the home in the first place. He was not sure if such happenings were going to be in his favor or if they were going to prove to be an issue. He was beginning to wonder (not for the first time), what was going on in the head of the man that had betrayed Voldemort and lived to tell the tale.

Deciding that he would continue on with his plan… ok fine no real plan, he was flying by the seat of his pants, but anyway. He would wait for Severus and Hermione to arrive back from wherever they were and then he would try to figure out how to wheedle a Phoenix feather from one or the other. Though he felt that he had a much better chance of getting a feather out of Severus, seeing as they had had a 'history' together in serving Voldemort. He would pull on the common belief system and memories that his father had given him about Severus to build a better rapport than had occurred the last time they had conversed.

Draco had to suppress a slight shudder at that. He was well aware of what Severus could do with that wand of his. He had heard and seen what he did at many a revel. To have such a powerful wizard stick his wand into his face and threaten him with possible death or at least torture was indeed disturbing. He had been quite afraid when Severus had lined the end of his wand between his eyes and pointed out his short comings with his own. He would have to do better than he did last time if he was going to get what he came for. He would have to use his charm to get what he wanted, he had already proven, the hard way, that he would have to approach nearly any conversation he had with his Godfather in very formal or 'charm filled' manner if he was to come away unscathed.

After he had finished looking at the tree and the various ornaments that were hung upon its boughs, he turned his attention else where in the room. First of all he decided that he would take a gander at the books that lined the walls. He knew from knowledge from his father and from a memory or two from his childhood (a bit fuzzy, that dream like quality of early memories), that the Snape Manor had a very large and very extensive library, possibly the best in private ownership in all of Wizarding Britain. He also knew that what was on the shelves around him were merely almost for show. He remembered that the library was on the second floor where the family's living quarters began.

After about ten minutes of perusing the shelves he heard footsteps coming down the hallway to the parlor and he turned to see Severus leading Hermione formally into the parlor. Severus wore his normal attire minus the big billowing teaching robes and Hermione wore a pair of jeans and a large red sweater with HS knitted into it. It was quite ugly in Draco's opinion and it would seem that they had come back from the Weasley's if that was what she was wearing. Hermione did not look exceedingly please to see him and wore a slightly frosty and rather forced looking smile on her face when she walked in the room. Severus greeted him rather formally with "Good evening Draco," and a slight nod in his direction. Draco gave him a small nod in return. Severus then promptly led Hermione over to the couch where he had been sitting before and set her in the center of the couch. Severus than set himself beside his wife and put his arm around her shoulders.

Draco noticed the way that Severus had situated himself, leaving Draco no choice but to take the seat across from them. It would seem that he may not be as easily welcomed as he had hoped if this was how things were already shaping up. Eyeing them carefully he decided that he should also sit down. He chose the seat that was across from the sofa instead of sitting on the other side of Hermione. He wanted to see Severus' face when he was talking to him and not sit next to the mudblood. He was not very happy about the fact that it seemed that Severus was making the statement that the mudblood was more important or was higher socially than himself, a Pureblood and Severus' own Godson.

"Good evening Godfather." Draco said a bit stonily, still eyeing them carefully to see how and what their reactions were to his presence. "Where have you been off too? You never seemed to be someone to party."

"I am not, but one must make concessions when married and sometimes there are pleasant surprises along the way." Severus said seeming to tighten his grip around Hermione's shoulder for a moment. "But what brings you here Draco so late on a night like this? Don't you have a pregnant wife to attend to yourself?" Severus seemed as though he was courteous enough as he said this and a brief smile touched his face as he mentioned and held Hermione slightly closer. Draco let his eyes wander Hermione for a moment, seeming to look closer at her as she sat on the couch. He had noticed when she had walked in, but was unsure until she had sat down that she was now pregnant, it seemed that Severus still had what it took evidently. Though Draco was not completely pleased with the way the conversation was turning he decided he would try and direct it to a topic and tone that he felt would work better.

"I do as I please and my mudblood wife can fend for herself." Draco sneered giving Hermione a look of disgust. "Soon enough this stupid law will be repealed and we can all find appropriate wives, to carry on the Pureblood lines."

"You will not use that word in my home." Severus said with an edge of sharp iron in his voice. "And I am more than content with my wife. It is time that some new blood was incorporated into many of the old lines. Besides, I am sure that you are well aware of the fact that even Voldemort was in fact a Half blood himself." Draco scowled at this but made no comment. He had not known that Voldemort had been a Half blood until the last few months of the War. By that time it had hardly mattered seeing as he was already in so deep that he could not have easily backed out of the Death Eaters even if he had wanted to, and frankly he rather enjoyed the torture sessions and killing revels he attended. "Besides, even if this law is repealed, there is no way that you can change wives willy-nilly, and I am quite certain that the Ministry has not sanctioned murder in the last few months either." Severus told Draco sternly, Draco merely scowled back at him.

"What brings you here tonight?" Severus asked after a moment under Draco's unforgiving eye. Draco was a bit put out by the fact that Severus did not seem to be uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny or compelled in any way to agree with him. "My wife and I were planning on retiring for the evening when we returned. We have had a long day." Severus told him with a steely glint to his eye that seemed to challenge Draco to disagree or even to think about encroaching upon whatever activity that they had obviously seemed to have planned for the evening now that they had returned to the house.

"Well I came to talk, but seeing as we have very little in common anymore, I guess I shall be going." He said with a slight sneer rising from the chair. Draco was not inclined to indulge whatever challenge Severus had seemed to offer him. He was not one to usually ignore challenges, but the knowledge that Severus was on his home turf here in his home. As well as the fact that Draco, and Severus, were well aware of the fact that Draco's magical abilities in a duel were significantly less than Severus', even without the fact that Draco's wand was restricted. Knowledge of that was enough for him not to engage Severus in any challenge if he could currently avoid it. He would bide his time and wait to strike when his enemy was far less prepared and on the alert. Also with his comment he also extended a hint of a challenge to Severus. He was a Pureblood and proud of it and the pure, unsoiled lineage that he held was better than anything a halfblood or mudblood could ever hope to be. Was Severus 'man' or 'Pureblood' enough to agree with him? "Guess I will show myself out. Good evening Godfather, I had hoped for better from you, but I guess I am to be disappointed."

"You are not the only one to be disappointed then I guess." Severus commented, giving Draco a hard stare. Draco remembered the same look on his face when Severus had punished various members of his own house, something akin to 'the look' from a woman, but in some ways, so much deadlier. As Severus had very little to do and he could more than back up the threat in his eyes if he so desired. And Draco knew uncommonly well the power that Severus was capable of, after seeing some of what he could do at a few of the dark revels while Voldermort was rallying his supporters.

After Draco had left the parlor he walked slightly less than his normal speed, feeling that perhaps his last comment would have hit home, nipping the proud wizard in the ego, trying to get a rise out of him that he could use to his advantage. As Draco got farther and farther away from the parlor he became less convinced that he would actually get called back. He had made it back to the main entrance door when a small house elf appeared in front of him. By this time he was in a rather black mood. The small house elf was carrying his heavy outer robe and proceeded to levitate it at the right height so that he could easily slip into it without thinking about it. Once he had gotten his cloak on and secured, the house elf ushered him rather firmly out the door and he heard as the blot of the door was slid into place once the large door had closed behind him.

In the dim light coming from the windows above the door Draco pulled out his wand and conjured a similar lantern to the one that he had used to trudge from the edge of the lands to begin with. Luckily for Draco the night was not inclined to be stormy, just cold. The sky was clear and there was a light breath of a breeze that picked up a light dusting of loose snow and swirled it around a few inches off the ground in ever changing patterns. With one final, rather hateful look back at the mansion's doors Draco began to trudge back through the snow, using his footsteps as guide, back to the edge of the manor lands, his boots crunching loudly on the snow's crust.

After another hour of trudging in the dark, Draco's mood had not improved from when he had left the Snape Manor behind him. He was cold, alone and without what he had originally came for. He did not really see how he was going to acquire a Phoenix feather now. He did not know anyone else that was a Phoenix Keeper, nor did he think that his wife would be able to procure one through any of her normal avenues through her job. Even the black market seemed a bit of a stretch to actually acquire a real Phoenix's feather. He did not want to screw this Potion up. He only had one shot at it and wanted it to go off without a hitch.

As Draco was walking around the tying bar that stood in the middle of the clearing at the edge of the manor lands, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Normally he would have given no notice to something on the ground, but there was something about the flash he had seen that drew his attention. Going closer to the tying rail he noticed something reflecting the light of his lamp near one of the rail's supports. Bending down he saw that poking out of the white snow was something green and silver, obviously it had moved when a light wind had blown by, reflecting his light back at him. Reaching out he brushed away some of the snow and he quickly realized that he was looking at a single Phoenix feather. He could hardly believe his luck! Carefully picking it out of the snow he held the feather up and inspected it. It was in perfect condition and appeared to be nearly six inches long.

After a moment of both shock and awe at the fact that he actually had the most difficult and perhaps volatile substance for the Potion, Draco decided that there needed to be some sort of celebration on his part for such a wonderful accomplishment. He stuck the feather carefully in his pocket and walked the last few feet off the manor property to apparate away, an extra spring in his step.

Draco soon found himself at the entrance to Diagon Alley. It was dark and cold on the street. The magical street lamps doing only enough to make everything have a fuzzy, grey, almost dreamlike quality to it as the snow was thrown around much more here than in the woods. The wind was more channeled between the shops and the street, making it windy and bitingly cold. Hurrying through the street deco quickly found himself bellied up at a bar that was at the end of the Alley, nearer the seedier bit of Wizarding London.

Ordering a large Firewhiskey to warm him back up, Draco surveyed the gathering at the bar. Seeing as it was Christmas night there were few patrons in the bar and most seemed to be drinking alone. It would appear that it was only the lonely that were driven from their homes on Christmas night to drink in this particular bar. Just as the bar tender handed him his drink Draco's gaze settled upon a familiar face. Deciding there and then that it could be it his advantage, Draco made his way to sit across from the man in the far back corner booth, looking distinctively lonely.

Horace Slughorn sat in the darkest, farthest corner from the door in the bar. He was quite lonely and melancholy this Christmas. He was getting on in his years and he had just recently lost his wife to old age a few months before. He was old enough so that the Marriage Law would not affect him any longer. So there was no need for him to even bother finding himself a new wife, not that he was looking, nor did he feel the need to. He had been out earlier in the day at his only son's home for Christmas dinner, but had left early as his now pregnant wife was looking worn out. Now he sat in the bar, nursing a large tankard of strong whiskey and whishing there was someway that he could have his wife back for Christmas.

About halfway through is tankard Draco slid into the seat across from him in his booth. He remembered Draco because when Draco was significantly younger, his father had invited Slughorn and his wife over for various festivities and social events, that had been hosted at the Malfoy Manor up until about the time that Voldemort had arisen a second time. Slughorn was a magically strong Pureblood wizard who had never strongly supported the Malfoy's belief systems when entangled with Voldemort, but had never really opposed them either. He had preferred to stay out of the whole mess, even through the end stages of the War.

"Good evening Sir." Draco said as he slid into the booth across from him. "How are you this evening?"

"Hello Young Master Malfoy." Slughorn acknowledged him with a nod that was a bit exaggerated; Draco could see that the old wizard had likely been at the bar for a while. "I am doing as well as one can expect to in my situation. My wife and life partner is dead and I could not bring myself to impose any longer on the hospitality of my son. His beautiful wife was beginning to tire; she is nearly eight and a half months along now. I will be a granddad very soon." He said the last bit with great pride and excitement, though dimmed slightly by the alcohol and his age. "His wife may be a halfblood, but she is certainly strong, and loves my son. It is an advantageous match my son made. I would wish such good luck on everyone."

"I am surprised that you would say that such a match is good luck." Draco said. "I thought that you were one of the few that still see being Pureblood as an advantage."

"Well," Slughorn said thoughtfully. "There was a time when I thought like that, but my views have since changed. I have found that in my years, especially as a teacher, that the Pureblood stock is not as strong as it used to be. Either it is from inbreeding amongst the small number of Pureblood families, or it is just the more advantageous abilities brought in by some of the muggle and halfbloods during the years, I don't know. But what has been evident is that most if not all of the most notable wizards during the last seventy five years have been muggleborns or halfbloods. Harry Potter is a halfblood and He who must not be named was a halfblood himself. Dumbledore and Severus Snape are the only real major players in the War that were Pureblood. And Hermione Granger, now Snape was a force to be reckoned with during battle I hear, as well as in the courtroom. It has gotten to the point where I suspect that many of us Purebloods are just too much alike to be able to produce a great number of powerful children like it was when I was your age, the bloodlines are just too similar. It is good that there will be new blood incorporated into the lines, even if it is forced." Slughorn told Draco.

"I still don't think like the idea." Draco said, taking a swig of his Firewhiskey. "But I have little choice in the matter as I wished to stay in Britain and remain out of Azkaban. How come you are not married to a muggleborn yet then?"

"I am not subject to the law." He shrugged. "I am over the age limit. Besides I have lived my life and have now come up on the end. My life partner and best friend has past and I know that I shall soon follow where she has gone. Our only son is my only connection to the outside world really, and I rarely see him as it is. He has his own family to worry about now. I have run a good race and am ready to bow out gracefully, not try to begin another family." Slughorn nodded and took a swig from his tankard. "So what are you up to these days? What is your contribution to the next generation?"

"I was married to a muggleborn in August." Draco said. "She should be giving birth in another four months. In the meantime I am working on my own project and I actually came here to celebrate the acquisition of one of the last things I was going to need to complete it." Draco smirked. "Perhaps you would like to help me with it. It is right up your alley and it would give you something to do with your time."

"And what is this project?" Slughorn asked, his interest perked enough.

"I am working on a Potion." Draco said simply. "I am continuing the work that my father began and I now believe that I will be able to accomplish what my father was unable to do."

"Are you referring to the crazy quest that your father was on to try to 'rescue' his father from being a Dementor?" Slughorn asked, his eyebrows raising and looking stunned, even more so with the alcohol running through his veins.

"It really isn't so crazy." Draco assured him. "I have been able to acquire all of the ingredients and have them assembled together so that I may begin brewing as soon as I can. It will take a long time to accomplish and I would not be opposed to having an extra set of hands to help with it. Besides you were the Potions Master at Hogwarts for such a long time, your expertise would certainly lend to the success of the Potion." Draco told him.

"I was merely a Potions teacher, not a Master." Slughorn assured Draco. "A mastership requires ten years of training and a five year apprenticeship. I decided that I did not want to spend the time and the money to put into a mastership, but rather took the knowledge that I had and was qualified to teach at Hogwarts. Severus is a Master and a teacher, though his position and his title seem to have become one in the same during his tenure. Severus was able to cut the entire time down to seven years because he threw himself into his studies and excelled like no other, as he is the youngest person ever awarded the title of Potions Master when he was twenty five. He really is almost too qualified to be teaching at Hogwarts. He really should be doing something else, grander for the Wizarding world as a whole, instead of being closed up within the school's halls. But I suppose if that is what makes him happy, (Draco looked more than just a bit skeptical at that) or at least keeps him satisfactorily occupied, then far be it from me to suggest otherwise." Slughorn shrugged. "I am interested though in this Potion." He said. "I would like to see what you have come up with that your father in all his years could not. When would be a good time for me to come around and see what you have?"

"I would say after the first of the year." Draco said after a moment of thought. "I have to prepare a few more things before I can begin to brew the Potion and review the notes I have on it. That should give me some time to make double sure that I have everything that I need. How about you come around for dinner on the second of January at six? How does that sound to you?"

"That sounds like a plan young man." Slughorn said with a little bit of a smile. "I will be there and expecting a lovely dinner. Thank you for letting me feel useful by helping with your Potion." He raised his glass in a toast to Draco before he took a swig of his drink.

"No, thank you." Draco said raising his glass in return with a slight smile. "Thank you." 

**A/N: soo… hope it was worth the wait. I would love to hear what you think about it. and yes I know, Draco is just crusin' for a brusin' but not yet. Patience is a virtue. I will not let him be getting away with too much, at least not in the end. what comes around goes around as they (whoever that really is) say. **

**I don't know when the next chapter will be up, I hope before the end of the month. I have to decide which part of the story I will tell next and then actually find the time to write it. I am also desperately wanting to work on my other original work, I have high hopes of getting it published in a couple years, but first I have to finish it. anyways, I hope to have the next chapter up before the end of the month and be started on the next one already. hope you all have a wonderful 4****th**** of July for all my fellow Americans and to everyone else have a good month. **

**As always I must thank my wonderful beta **Skydancinghobbit** who puts up with my late night IMs and occasional whining (**_**what do you mean **__occasional!?)_** ok fine… my continuous, whining… better? (**_**yes**_**). Anywho, go check out some of her stuff too if you have the time, she has a new one that puts Severus in a loincloth and nothing else! It is quite entertaining! Anyways, please leave a review so I know how you like (or dislike ********) my story. I know that the reviews really do help the creative process!! Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom. – Live, Laugh, Love!- Dragons Quill**


	20. The Death Eater's Wife

**A/N: Ok guys, I know, I know, it has been like… forever and a day since I updated last! I know! It has been too long! I have been busy though, I swear! My baby chicks are very diverting, wither it is to actually work with them or to just sit and watch them (they are mine! And they are cute! And they are all mine!!!). **

**Anyways, I will let you all read the chapter I never intended to write but just came out anyways and refused to be deleted. Hope you enjoy it and leave a wondrous review at the end! thanks! **

Chapter 20

_The Death Eater's Wife_

Draco was most anxious for the second of January to roll around. He had spent the remainder of the year going through the notes and books he had lifted from the Ministry Archives, checking and double checking to make sure that he had everything he needed for the Potion. He wanted to get started on the Potion as soon as he could. He had informed his wife the next morning that they were going to have a visitor on the second and that she had better be presentable to see him. He was an old friend of the family's and was a Pureblood wizard who expected her to look a certain way.

Hattie merely nodded and went off to look through the things she had in her closet. She knew that she really had nothing that Draco would find to be presentable so she decided that she would do something nice for herself. Gathering a few things together she left the house to visit some of the shops in Diagon Alley. Hattie had managed to skim off the top of her pay checks and squirrel money away that her husband did not know about so that she could get some of the things she wanted. She had guessed, from what she knew of Draco before they were married, to put some of the money that she had made already in a muggle bank account so that she could support herself or at least have some things that she wanted without having to go to her husband for money (that he wouldn't have given to her anyway). The money had been in an account that was managed by a muggle accountant that made sure that things were done properly with her money. She would send money and instructions through the Muggle/Wizarding Post Exchange that had been set up by an enterprising halfblood a few years earlier.

Draco had allowed her to continue to work even though she was pregnant. It seemed to her that he seemed to care very little for her, and in some ways she was grateful. She did not really want to be with him anymore than she had to. She knew of his reputation before she had married him, and had seen the evidence of his loyalties still etched into his left forearm when he had engaged her on more than one occasion. She had had very little choice in the matter of deciding if she should marry Draco or not, as she had not been petitioned for. The Ministry had picked her husband for her. She knew that the Ministry could have picked someone far worse for her to have married. And she was grateful that even though he was a Death Eater that he did not seem bent on trying to kill her. He was not exactly a kind person, especially in the bedroom, but she could overlook that as long as that seemed to be nearly the only times that they really had to interact with each other.

Draco had actually given her more freedom to do as she liked that she had originally believed and as she thought about it, than she thought he knew. He was not someone she would have ever picked and she suspected that she would never love him, even a little bit, but she resolved that she would love the child that she now carried no matter who or what it's father had been. She would love all of her children despite the fact that their father was a horrible ex Death Eater that conspired to do dark magic unnoticed.

Oh yes, Hattie knew exactly what her husband was up to in his chambers and why he had wanted her to help him obtain things from the apothecary that she worked for. He was up to something not only highly illegal, but as black as the night without a moon. He was going to brew something so dangerous she wanted to be nowhere in the same zip-code when it all went down. But it seemed that since she was tied to him by marriage, that she was stuck dealing with the outcome, whatever it was. She had done some of her own research into what Draco was doing. She had managed to make her own copy of the copy of the notes that Draco had taken from the Ministry Archives. She knew he had managed to gather most of the more dangerous and the more common of the Potions ingredients, as she had been the one to supply them. She just hoped and prayed that he would not be able to obtain the one ingredient that she could not track down, even on the black market, the Phoenix feather. After that she knew that there would be no stopping him. She also knew about the need for a human body to go into the mix, but she did not put anything over on Draco so she knew that was an easy enough obtained ingredient. Although she took solace in the fact that it would most likely not be herself that would become that ingredient. She knew him well enough to know that he would not bring the Ministry's attention to her going missing without a body, to kill her. He was in the Ministry's blind spot and she knew he was cunning and smart enough to stay there as long as he possibly could and draw as little attention to himself as possible. Though she was still uneasy about the whole deal with the Potion, and prayed every night for a Phoenix feather to never cross his path.

Hattie knew well enough though, that in the long run Draco would probably; eventually end up with a Phoenix feather to brew his Potion. She knew enough about his family and connections, especially before the fall of Voldemort, to know that he was connected to a bad lot, but to know that he was also associated with a Phoenix Keeper, Severus Snape. She had, since marrying Draco, rather diligently done research into all the people that she knew her husband associated with both in the past and present. She was well aware that most if not all of his associates, alive or dead, were Death Eaters. Most of what she knew came from court transcripts of their trials and sentencings. The transcript that she found most interesting though was of this Phoenix Keeper, Severus Snape.

She had not really decided at first weather she was surprised or not to see his name listed among those tried and sentenced in the Death Eater Trails. She had heard his name a few times around the house. Many of those times Draco had cursed him, which she did not totally understand, due to the fact she had figured out that he was also Draco's Godfather. Once she delved into the court transcripts and the shortened, but still highly descriptive written accounts of the Pensives that were submitted as evidence by none other than the War Hero Hermione Granger, now Snape, Hattie was absolutely astonished by the man. She could now see why and how Draco was 'related' to a man that he now despised. She was actually rather jealous of Hermione for being able to snag him as her own, while she was stuck with Draco.

She had never had Severus as a teacher and she had not met him in the Death Eater times, before or after she had married Draco. She still called the times that Draco and his friends were in the house, the Death Eater times, since most of the people he ever had over were connected with the Death Eaters or were 'reformed' Death Eaters. Hattie was sure that the only truly reformed Death Eater that she had ever met or would ever meet was Severus Snape. She could see what had made him so powerful and deadly, heck he was still all that, but he was putting it to a use and direction that was far more constructive than his previous time.

She had not known much about either Severus or Hermione before she had done the research into them, especially Severus. Both were customers at the apothecary where she worked and she had waited on them both separately as well as together. She had at first been totally astonished when she had first waited upon Hermione, as she was a War Hero after all. But she had soon gotten over the initial shock and had managed to talk in a friendly and non-jittery manner and found out she was a kind person. She had also waited upon Severus soon after he had been released from Azkaban. She had been the only one with enough courage, or perhaps not enough knowledge of him to know to avoid him. She had waited upon him and quickly deduced that he was not one to cross and was used to getting his way in a quick and orderly fashion. The way that he had carefully inspected each ingredient as if she was out to do him wrong spoke of both a perfectionist as well as deep paranoia. She was still debating which it was as he still did the same thing every time she waited on him, but once he had gained back some of his weight and did not look at her so suspiciously she was more inclined to believe it his nature than anything else.

She had been at first surprised to hear that they had gotten married, even though it was as a result of the Marriage Law. She would have never pegged them as a couple that would have gotten along well. But her misgivings were all not only addressed but dashed when she had first seen them together as a couple. She could hardly believe the difference that she saw in the countenance of the normally frowning and scowling man. By no means was he smiling, but he was not frowning or scowling, he was actually looking quite lovingly at the woman on his arm. He played the gentleman at every turn and was very attentive to his wife. She could see in his face they were very much in love as they would always seem to smile when they looked at the other, even Severus. Ok maybe not smile, but his eyes would soften and the normally down turned corners of his mouth would go to at least neutral or turn every so slightly upward. She had also seen how Severus showed or discussed each ingredient in depth with Hermione and when there was a disagreement between them about an ingredient they would logic there way through the conversation, usually involving the sighting of some previous research. She could see that they would get along well, and that their marriage would be one that would work, not because Wizarding marriages were binding forever, but because the people in the marriage were content to make it work out in a positive manner. The fact that they were in love was something Hattie had wished for, but knew could never be now that she was shackled to Draco.

Far faster than Hattie had actually anticipated the second of January rolled around and it was time to meet the old family friend that Draco had crooned about. Dressing herself in a flattering dress, despite the pregnant budge she made sure that everything was just so, instructing the house elves in what must be done. She may only be bred a halfblood, but she knew how to run a Pureblood household. Her father had married a muggleborn witch while he had lived in America, but he had made sure that his children were taught how to move in the upper Pureblood society around them. Her mother had also been able move more freely than many other muggleborns among many of the families that were not as strict about bloodlines when they had moved back to Britain. Her mother had not necessarily looked or acted in a muggle fashion when she was in the presence of Purebloods and could usually pass herself through a conversation on normally Pureblood topics. Hattie was able to run the house as it was 'supposed to be run' in a Pureblood manner, despite her halfblood breeding. She would make sure that Draco would have no problems either with her dress, speech or the state of the house when his friend came to call upon them.

She was especially interested as well as first off put by the house elves that she now had command of. She had originally never known about house elves as they seemed to be a mainly 'old world' type of thing among the European Purebloods and much more of a novelty at best among the most wealthy in America. The family as it now stood had two house elves that Draco had managed to acquire somehow before they were married. She had thought it better not to ask, just like she did not ask about how Draco was able to afford some rather expensive things on a Ministry worker's salary. Although she was not stupid and was well aware he had things stowed away that he shouldn't have, she just was wise enough not to ask too many questions. She had at first, managed to gravely injure one of the house elves, as she had insisted she could do something herself which sent the elf into a frenzy of self punishment. She had soon learned that it was best to just let them do as they pleased, as much work as they could manage to 'please' her. All the house elves had all complied quickly and efficiently as always, but she noticed that they did things a bit more cheerily when she told them then when Draco had started demanding things from them. It was actually thanks to the house elves that she knew as much about what Draco was doing as she did. She knew that he was up to something when he started to make demands of her from the apothecary, especially things that only licensed Potions Masters or Mistresses should have access to. She was although not able to refuse him the ingredients as she should have because of her position in his family. Through it all she managed to acquire herself a raw, rough list of ingredients that he had to have and what he had gotten. 

One of the bet sources of information that Hattie had was indeed the house elves. They were at first a bit torn when she had asked them to retrieve information from Draco's chambers, but it soon seemed that they quickly changed there minds soon after Draco had managed to smuggle, presumably his father's Dementor into the house. Ever since that time the house elves were an ample supply of information and even sometimes going so far as to give their own thoughts on the matter. She had been surprised to find that the house elves in her house were perhaps not well read, but possessed a large range of knowledge and deeper thought on things not related to the running of a house, but music, and philosophy, as well as astronomy to name a few things. Hattie was more than pleased to provide them with little trinkets and gifts that would let them expand their knowledge and fact base. She had a notion to let them go by giving them clothes, but she was well aware that the burden they carried would then fall to her if she did. And she also knew that she would be in need of their help in the very near future when she gave birth to her first child. She would need all the help she could get to care for the child and avoid Draco's interference as much as possible.

Once the house elves told Hattie that everything was ready and that her husband's guest would be arriving soon, she made her way down from her chambers and to the parlor of the house. Draco seemed to have the run of the house at all times, while Hattie kept mainly to her rooms when she was at the house. She would sometimes even take her meals there as well, just to avoid Draco. There was definite truth to the old adage of 'out of sight, out of mind', and Hattie took every opportunity to exercise it. Draco eyed her suspiciously as she entered into the room, as if she might jump up and down or sit on him; like she would ever do either, especially now she was pregnant. Choosing to acknowledge his presence, but not his attitude she greeted him politely and formally as she had been taught, showing him that she could indeed display the 'old manners' that seemed to govern the European Wizarding Upper Crust Society. Crossing the room she chose to sit demurely in one of the chairs in the corner by the fireplace, while Draco stood by the fireplace nursing a brandy. She chose to look into the fireplace and watch the dancing flames instead of looking at Draco while she waited for this guest to arrive. She could feel Draco's eyes upon her as she did this, but chose that she would not be discomforted. Draco seemed to loose interest in a while and went back to whatever he had been doing while she was still up stairs getting ready. Very soon there was a soft, hesitant knock at the door and a house elf stuck its head through the space with the door ajar.

"Master Slughorn is here, Master!" The house elf squeaked. "Where would you like me to send him?"

"Bring him in here." Draco commented, leaning away from the hearth and straightening his outer robe. Hattie rose from her chair and managed to stand beside the back of it, facing the door. Presently their guest was at the door and Draco was welcoming him into the room and she was introduced to a kindly older gentleman out of society requirements.

This Horace Slughorn fellow Hattie could tell was a kindly soul and not one who would be quite as horrible as Draco's other 'friends'. She felt that she could actually enjoy his company, which surprised her. She was amazed that there was anyone in Draco's acquaintance that she would ever look favorably upon. Carrying a polite bit of small talk while the house elves finished up the dinner preparations, Hattie then invited her guest into the dinning room and dinner was then served. She knew that she would be playing polite hostess for Draco until she died and at this one time she was inclined to enjoy the company of a person who did not seem quite so 'Death Eater-ish'.

**A/N: well I hope you all thought it was worth the wait, I know it certainly took me far longer than I ever imagined, but what is done is done, alls well that ends when right? Anyways I hope to have the next chapter out soon! I really have to get on the ball. Thanks to everyone who read all the way to the bottom. And a wonderful big thanks goes out to my beta** Skydancinghobbit,** who listens to me whine and betas my stuff so kindly.**

**Hope everyone is having a good and relatively productive summer. I know mine has been… interesting to say the least. If you have the time go check out some of my other stuff or even some of my beta's stuff, she has more and more stories up all the time, how she does it is a mystery to me. Have a wonderful time until I can post again, Live, Laugh, Love~ Dragons Quill**


	21. The Brewing of Trouble

**A/N: hey everyone! I am so glad that a few of you still care enough to leave a review on my story. I know lots and lots of you read it, but only a few of you left me a review. ******** I know that it took a while to get the next chapter up but here it is, and lucky for you I have the next chapter already written as well. I finally found the time to sit down at the computer and it just suddenly just all came out on the screen. You guys will get the next chapter in about two weeks. Hopefully before then I will be able to get the chapter after that written so that there aren't such long waits between. Anyways, now that I have written another novel as authors notes, on to the next chapter!**

Chapter 21

_The Brewing of Trouble_

Draco was exceedingly anxious for the second of January to roll around and for Slughorn to visit his house. He was most impatient to begin the Potion that would set him on the path to resurrecting his father. Now that he had the Phoenix feather he had not more ingredients to collect, and it just so happened that there was a very good chance the last ingredient besides the Phoenix feather would also help with the Potion as well. Draco thought that was just all neat and tidy and almost too easy, but he was not one to question things that were going so well and in his favor at the moment.

He was not of a mind to even think so far ahead as to look at his motives either. He had never really thought much beyond the actual bringing of his father back to think of exactly why he should or should not do such a thing. He was just concerned now about the fact that he could do it. He was also misguided enough to believe that it was something he should be proud of that he had been able, or was going to have done something that his father had been unable to do. He had actually gotten farther than his father had gotten in the nearly twenty years and it would be implemented on his father. Now the only thing Draco was thinking or even remotely concerned about was how to keep Slughorn from figuring out what the Potion was before it was finished or the time was right for him to be 'added' to the mix.

Soon enough the second of January finally arrived. Draco had made sure that his wife was well aware that she was to look and act presentably for their guest, in a Pureblood manner. He knew that she was a halfblood, but he had never really gone into any depth of figuring out what his wife knew about the Pureblood society or if she knew how to conduct herself. In some ways Draco didn't care, because he didn't care about his wife. She was merely an accessory as it were or something akin to having a dog. He was still waiting for the chance where he could get the law repealed and he could get himself a proper wife. In the interim though when he wanted to have guests over, especially those who he still wanted to impress he felt that it was important that his wife also be made to conform to strict Pureblood rules and methods of conduct. He had seen how she had acted around many of the other people he had brought for a visit, though she had never stayed long at any of the encounters.

This time though she could not beg herself off early as she had in other times, and in some ways he did not want her to. If he could keep Slughorn's attention on his wife, wither it was in a positive or negative, he really didn't care, he might be able to convince him to help him on the Potion and not really ask too many questions about it. He could also do a bit of an assessment on what his wife knew of Pureblood society and what she did not know when she was asked to 'host' such a visit. Though Draco wondered vaguely if she would do what many of the Pureblood women of money would do if they didn't want to do something. Many times, and especially during pregnancies, the women would beg illness or desire a great deal of quietness and would then be 'confined' to their beds and thus not be forced to visit or interact with company. Draco was ready to forcibly remove her from her chambers if she tried such a thing, due to the fact that he wanted to use her as a deco for Slughorn's attention.

On the first of January Draco began to notice that there were different things occurring around the house that he had not ordered his house elves to do. He had already told them what to make as a meal for their guest, but he had decided that he would see what Hattie did in preparation for their guest. He noticed that things were getting cleaned to a whole new level of shinyness, and that everything just seemed to gleam almost better than new. There was also a freshness about the palace that he could really not place. The last time the house had been cleaned with so much care and attention to delicate detail and 'shinnyness' was the day that he had brought Hattie home as his bride. It would seem that either the house elves had been told to clean to a level of perfection that even they did not usually participate in or they had caught wind that something big and important was to occur.

The next day, when Slughorn was to arrive he sent one of his house elves up to inform Hattie that their guest would arrive soon. He had sent for her about a half hour before their guest was slated to arrive due to the fact that he had a vague inclination that he would have to go and physically or magically 'convince' Hattie that she really had no choice in the matter of meeting his guest. What surprised him most of all was when the house elf did not return with tidings that Hattie was to stay abed or in her chambers for the evening as she often times did when he did not summon her. There were many times when he did not even have to lay eyes on his wife unless he wanted to corner her for his own satisfaction, which in many ways suited him just fine. He was also very surprised when he saw Hattie walk into the parlor where he had been waiting and drinking for her to arrive or for him to make her have an appearance. He was actually quite surprised by the fact that she was dressed in something he would have likely seen his mother in, had she still been able to move among the Pureblood society. It was a dress that was relatively modest while still showing off her now larger, pregnant breasts as well, hung rather attractively over and around her pregnancy. Draco could not help himself but stare in surprise for a few minutes at her. He had not only expected to have to force her to appear, but did not believe that she knew how, or owned anything that would be considered good enough for a Pureblood to wear.

Soon enough his brooding and drinking was interrupted by a house elf timidly poking its head into the parlor and announcing that his guest had arrived. When he was then ushered into the room he first greeted his guest and then noticed his wife had risen to stand in respect of either his Pureblood or his age he was unsure, but she had done so in a proper manner. He was then obligated by manners to introduce Slughorn to his wife. Slughorn then proceeded to carry on polite small talk, mainly with his wife and seemed to almost fawn over her and her pregnant state. Draco thought it all a bit ridiculous due to the fact that it was merely a three quarter's blood child that she carried. Draco was not pleased with the fact that it would carry the Malfoy name, but he would have to be content with it for now. Besides he figured that if he was able to get the law repealed eventually, even if it was not quite soon enough for him to remove either Hattie and or any inferior children that if he was selective and careful about which witches and wizards his children bred, I mean married, with, he was sure that he could produce a Pureblood child bearing the Malfoy name within a generation or two.

When it was announced that dinner was to be served he was quite pleased by the fact that she was able to invite his guest into dinner in the regular Pureblood manner and that she was seemingly able to run a Pureblood household in an acceptable manner. He may not always have all the money that he would like to throw around, but he certainly had a bit of hope that his wife would be able to raise up the children to at least know and be aware of the traditions that they would have to try to fulfill, even if they were not up to the Pureblood standards that he wanted and required. Although he was aware that if he did have to endure the children that he would sire through Hattie, that at least they would be of the highest blood purity allowed by the law, and as such were the closest thing to Pureblood that there would be anywhere in the Wizarding world.

During the dinner he commandeered Slughorn back from Hattie, it was fine that she engage him in conversation in the parlor when they were not in the most formal that they would be in the evening. In the dinning room though, Draco was king of his kingdom and the guests that entered into his doors. They discussed the equivalent of small talk, commenting on the Ministry, various forms of politics that were occurring and the state of the house that Draco now lived in and a vague inclination as to how he actually afforded it. Once they began to discuss the house and then Draco talked about the lab and that was when the conversation turned to the Potion that Draco really wanted to brew. Draco had prepared 'copies' of the ingredient list, concepts and steps to the Potion. He had everything up until about the time that a body had to be added to the mix copied down and ready for Slughorn to review. He had also conveniently made sure that there were no references to what exactly the Potion was intended to do. It was only after the human body was added that there was any mention of the Dementors or the Soul Stone and Draco was more than content to let it happen as such until he was forced to reveal his whole hand. And by the time he would be forced to do that, it would be far too late for Slughorn to back out or tell anyone of his plans.

Once the lab and the Potion were brought up in the conversation there was quite a bit of discussion about it between the two men. Hattie was well aware that this was considered to be 'men's' business, at least in this household. So she kept her mouth shut. She was quite well aware of the Potion and was saddened and almost relieved that it would not be her going into the Potion, but she suspected very strongly that it would be this man sharing her table that would be. She had a great inner fight going on within her because of this knowledge. She wanted so much to be able to tell Slughorn that he was likely going to become a Potions ingredient if he ever showed up on her doorstep again, and the relief it wasn't her. There was also the fact that Draco didn't know that she knew anything about the specifics. What worried her most was the fact that because of her knowledge, what would happen to her when, not if, she was sure of it, that the Ministry finally removed its head from its rear and notice that his father was back in action, or at least back in the public eye. She really did not want to think about what might happen if he succeeded and then the world found out about the fact she knew that there was at least one innocent person murdered while she knew about it.

Once dinner was done the men moved back to the parlor and Hattie decided out of politeness that she would follow them and sit unobtrusively in a corner so that she could warmly see her guest out when they were done having a conversation. What surprised her was the fact that Draco did not push for the brewing to begin even that night. She realized later that it was a bit of a brilliant move on his part. Their guest was getting significantly older and as such was not quite as spunky as Draco. Draco after a short time after dinner was able to make excuses as to why the Potion didn't seem complete or that he had never heard of it before. Draco had managed to convince him that it was a relatively new and experimental Potion that had been brought over to England from America with Hattie's father. Slughorn had seemed satisfied with that answer and had agreed to help Draco finish the Potion. Draco then decided to send their guest home so that he could rest and they had scheduled a second meeting date so that they could discuss what all the Potion was suppose to do over perhaps a mid morning coffee break within the next few days. Hattie was quite glad that she would be going back to work at the apothecary before then again so that she would not have to listen to the poisonously sweet words that Draco seemed to be feeding the man so he could get a hold of his body.

**A/N: OOooo… what is Draco up to?! he is definitely meddling in things that he shouldn't! and this does not look good for poor Slughorn! Poor Hattie knowing but being unable to do anything about it. sigh, anyways, Draco really will get his, don't worry, it is coming, just not yet. **

**Thanks for reading all the way to the end and it would be lovely if you left a review to tell me what you thought of it, good, bad or indifferent. As always I must give a warm and generous shout out and thanks to my beta** Skydancinghobbit** who is now a much easier distance to see, yea! **

**Thanks to everyone who has left a review so far, I love your thoughts on my story! I will update again in about two weeks (if my will power holds out that long… usually chipped away by a large number of reviews). Until then Live, Laugh, Love ~ Dragons Quill**


	22. Double Bubble, Boil and Trouble

**A/N: I would like to co-dedicate this chapter to Heidi 191976, notwritten, love109, Glykera, and my beta Skydancinghobbit, due to the fact that they are the only ones that reviewed. Thanks for the wonderful reviews and encouragement you give me. I know that it really makes my day when I have an inbox full of review alerts. Thanks to everyone else as well who clicked on my story and read it. **

**Now that Draco has managed to get a hold of Slughron, will he figure it out before it is too late or will Draco accomplish his morbid and misguided task? Now onto the next chapter and please review, it really does make my day! Enjoy!**

Chapter 22

_Double Bubble, Boil and Trouble_

Far too soon for Hattie's likening and not soon enough for Draco's, the second meeting between Slughorn and Draco took place. It was once again at the house and there were theories and ideas passed around between the two men, as to what the Potion actually did. Slughorn was not quite suspicious, but he was quite sure that what Draco had given him was not the whole recipe, but only a partial. He thought it not sinister, but believed that it was just what he had of the recipe, as he believed what Draco had told him; that the recipe was something that was brought over from America… perhaps there was a piece missing or information lost when it was moved from one place to another.

After the first meeting it was decided that they would begin to brew the Potion as soon as they were able. Once it was assured to Slughorn that the few ingredients that normally would not be available to Draco had already been obtained through his wife and 'her certifications', the decision to move forward with the Potion was quickly made.

It was two weeks to the day after the New Year when Slughorn and Draco began to brew the Potion. Draco had chosen the basement for the site of his father's 'resurrection'. Not only was it quarantined off from the rest of the house, but it was also the easiest to convert to a lab to do the brewing. Draco did not want anyone to mess with or disturb the Potion as it brewed, so he figured that the basement was not only easy to keep locked and separated, but it was also harder to find any 'stray' magical signatures if anyone else from the Ministry decided that they would be checking in on him. Draco also figured that his wife, who he hardly saw anyways, as she kept almost exclusively to her rooms, would not venture to the basement and stumble upon what he was doing.

Three weeks after Draco and Slughorn had begun to brew the Potion; they had come within one ingredient of the end of what Draco had shown Slughorn. At this point Slughorn was beginning to try to guess what the Potion was for. He was also now thoroughly convinced that there was a significantly longer list of ingredients that would have to go into the Potion to make it complete. Although, luckily for Draco, Slughorn was still at a loss for what the ingredients were meant to be and what the Potion was going to be able to do in the end.

Draco had been preparing extra for the day that he would add Slughron into the mix. For a moment he almost had felt a twang of remorse that he was going to be killing the old man and turning him into a Potions ingredient, but then it was gone. He was most eager to see his father once again and to ask what it was like being a Dementor, just to know. He also wanted to be able to tell his father of the injustices caused by not only the Ministry, but by Severus Snape, to not only to his fellow Death Eaters, but to Draco himself. He knew that Lucius would not stand for such things. Not only would he hunt down and remove Severus from the picture for being a traitor to the Death Eaters, and ratting everyone he could out, but he would also hunt him down due to the fact that he would also likely want his turn with the little mudblood whore that had married him. His father had always promised him when the War was going, that if Hermione was ever captured alive that he would have a chance to play with her, and maybe even gain her as a 'pet' of sorts, along with his father, if Voldemort would allow. Now that all of that had been denied to him, and most, if not all the blame was to be laid at Severus Snape's door. Draco would make sure that he would pay, and he would make sure that between himself and his newly 'resurrected' father that Severus would not get away.

Draco had actually made a special trip to the Swiss bank vault a few days prior to when they were to add the final ingredient on the circulated list. He had gone specifically to pick up one of the items that had been so carefully stowed by his father. It was a specially enchanted blade that the family had acquired during the first Voldemort War. It had been originally used in dark rituals during the Stone Age and was one of the darker objects contained within the Vault. Draco thought that it would be appropriate to use such a blade in this execution and utilization of the body in the Potion. The blade was enchanted to pass through the skin and leave no blemish, but cause damage to the tissue underneath, usually resulting in massive internal bleeding and death. Draco figured that it would be best to keep the outside of the body as blemish proof as possible in case it carried over to when his father was 'resurrected'. Lucius was just as fastidious about his looks as his son, if not more so, and Draco figured he would not leave his father anything more to cover up than he had to.

Finally the moment arrived after the final ingredient that Slughorn knew about was added. After stirring the recommended number of times Slughorn stood over the cauldron and muttered to himself about it not being finished and that there was something missing. Draco came up behind him and sunk the knife into Slughorn's back, right below his rib cage in an upward motion.

"You are right old man," Draco told him quietly beside his ear. "There are missing ingredients and the list begins with you. You will help me 'resurrect' my father sir and you will have no choice in the manner."

Slughorn arced in the shock and pain from Draco's sudden assault. By the time he had figured it out it was indeed too late, Draco had already twisted the knife and withdrawn it, pushing him towards the simmering pot. He didn't even have time to cry out before he was consumed by the blackness of death and the bubbling surface of the Potion before him.

Draco then merely inspected the blade for any imperfections and then returned it to the bag that he had transported it from the bank vault. After he had put the knife away he carefully began to add the rest of the ingredients. The first part of the Potion took a relatively longer time to brew than the final stages after the body was added, even though most of the ingredients went in afterwards.

Following the directions carefully he was able to come to the end of the Potion within another two weeks of Slughorn's 'disappearance', although luckily for him, no one had noticed yet. Once he added the final ingredient and let the Potion stand for two hours and cool as he waited and watched carefully. If he had done everything correctly then the Potion would begin the next portion of the process all on its own.

To Draco's fear and delight he had evidently done it correctly, as the Potion quite literally began to do things all on its own. He had left it uncovered, par the instructions and about two and a half hours after he had taken it off the heat something in the caldron began to move. It was like a large gray/pink worm, rearing its head out from inside the pot and it seemed almost to be surveying the room. Then it began to ooze out of the pot and onto the tabletop and sort of inch/ flow its way across the table and onto the floor with an indiscernibly disgusting sound, almost like liquefied flesh on the move. Once it was all on the floor, leaving an almost watery/snail slime type of trail behind it, the blob, for lack of a better word, made its way to a cool dark corner. Once the blob had reached the corner it began to create almost silky strands around itself, enclosing and blocking itself off from the rest of the world, much like a caterpillar does as it begins to pupate.

Draco sat in awe as the seemingly 'conscious' or 'self thinking' Potion made itself a cocoon type of a partition around itself in the corner of his basement over the coarse of about another hour and a half. Once there seemed to be a significant outside layer of 'silk' he mustered his courage and crept closer to the cocoon. He could hear the thing moving inside, with a faint almost sloshing sound as the thing obviously was still very much active.

Satisfied that he had done what the instructions had prescribed Draco consulted the instructions one last time and then began to clean up around the basement. He was careful to avoid the corner where the cocoon, about the size of about four large bean bags thrown into the corner resided. Once he was done cleaning up he carefully put things away as they should be and then locked and warded the door to the basement as he left it so that nothing and no one could enter or exit. He would have to wait until the Potion had finished 'pupating' before he would see his father again, that would likely be within another nearly nine months before the Potion was finished and his father would once again be in the same world and plane of understating as himself. He was most eager for that to occur.

Up in her rooms Hattie knew when Draco had killed Slughorn, there was a chill that passed through the house. She was also well aware of the time that the Potion began to move and relocate itself outside of the cauldron. The house shook to its foundation in both fear and disgust at what had occurred within the basement. The very stones of the house quaking at the dark powers that were being tampered with within the walls of the little unassuming house. Staying in her bed and drawing the covers close while clutching her wand Hattie hugged her growing womb and trembled. She did not know what sort of consequences were going to befall her or her unborn, but she knew something was going to happen eventually because of this. She just prayed that it would only happen to Draco and leave herself and her children out of it.

**A/N: well… that was disturbing… semi-intelligent and potions ingredient in the same sentence. That is just really shouldn't ever be said in the same sentence when referring to the same thing, sort of like semi-intelligent slime-mold. Burr… well; it would seem that Draco is on the way to 'resurrecting' his father and disturbing the whole balance of the universe. This just doesn't sound like a very productive thing to be doing, but like was said before; he really hasn't thought that far ahead. Hum… this sounds delightfully destructive to me. * chuckle manically* grin. **

**Thanks as always to my wonderful beta **Skydancinghobbit **who listens to my whines and is my very own personal sounding board. I just love her to pieces and my sis… well except for that little problem with the DNA, but who really cares about such trifling details? Grin. **

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews I am sure you will all give me… please. The starving author survives on reviews. And if you are feeling particularly industrious, or bored or well, in the mood to continue reading, go and check out some of my other fan fics. I have some delightful and cute one shots up including my new one A Snape Family Outing, where Severus' newly potty trained daughter has to go, in a public place. And no, it can't wait till mommy comes back. **

**Anyways, have a wonderful time frolicking in Fanficland, until I post again, it should be another week or two. I already have the next chapter written, but I am holding out on you all for a while yet. In the mean time, Live, Laugh, Love ~ Dragons Quill**


	23. Keeper's Intuition

**A/N: hey everybody, I have posted another chapter! Yeah! I know there were a couple people who were not happy I was holding out on you all, but hey, I like to be able to give out chapters at a steady rate. Besides, for some reason I find it immensely easier to write and that the creative juices flow easier when I have a chapter already written and I am under no real pressure to crank one out in a certain time period that I have set as acceptable amount of time for you all to wait. **

***Deep Sigh*, ok now that I have that off my chest I will agree with another reviewer or two who were interested in the relationship between Severus and Hermione and not Draco. Don't worry, I can guarantee two chapters together, possibly three, still working on it, of just Severus and Hermione! Although for all of you who are hoping for this fic to be rated the M for sex scenes I can say sorry, this one is rated M more for violence, though sex is still an important part, as everyone is trying to fulfill the marriage law and will definitely not be neglected, but certainly not the star of this fic. **

**A big special thanks and cyber hug and chocolate cookies to everyone who reviewed, the wonderful reviews you all left have certainly helped the creative juices stay bubbling and ready to use. THANKS! Love you all! **

**Ok now that I have written an entire novella for beginning authors notes (probably a function of the latest go around with the parents grrr! Why must living on my own exceed my possible income!) Anyways, on to the next chapter. I know this one was an enjoyable one to write! and a nice transition from the last chapter. **

Chapter 23

_Keeper's Intuition _

Severus woke with a frantic start from his sleep and sat straight up in bed. He was panting heavily and was covered in a cold sweat. He looked wildly around the room with his wand literally materializing in his hand from the night stand beside the bed and emitting a soft glow from the tip. After a moment the frantic, panicked look left his eyes and he was able to take a proper breath, the cooler air of the dungeon finally cooling his feverish skin. Looking to his side he saw that Hermione slumbered peacefully beside him.

He was grateful that he had not woken her. She was getting painfully little sleep now as she was so near the end of her pregnancy. She had begun to lose sleep around the middle to end of the sixth month when the twins had been getting to be quite active. The worst part about it was that even though they were in there together, they didn't necessarily do things together. There were times when the twin on top would be sleeping while it's counterpart on the bottom was seemingly trying out for a dance competition and vice versa. Severus had been at first fascinated with the feeling of the movement of his children beneath his hand, the small pressure of a foot or fist under Hermione's skin. Although he really did have to admit that it was not quite so cute when Hermione had snuggled against him one night and he got kicked in the back harder than he thought possible by one of the twins.

Severus wondered how she did it all, even though he had watched her through out the last month of school. She was now lugging around probably an extra fifty pounds of pregnancy weight all around that had made her already supple curves even the more enticing for him. He had been doing the best that he could to keep her moral up when she was feeling down. She would sometimes look in the mirror and bemoan her now long gone figure, but he would always reassure her that he loved her no matter what she looked like. Actually he found the fact that she was pregnant with his children to be one of the sexiest things he could imagine. He took every opportunity to capitalize on that and show her quite explicitly that he thought so.

They had been unable to do that though in nearly a month and a half. They normally would have been able to carve out a little bit of time to spend together alone and 'without anything to do' but things had conspired against them. Hermione was now so perpetually exhausted that she would just apologize for the fact she could do little more than what was required and then go to sleep for as long as she could manage between her perpetual pilgrimages to the toilet. Severus had managed though to find times to corner her long enough to convince her that nice long bubble bath (him included, but never to be admitted to outside of the chambers) would be good for her and the children. Most of the time she would fall asleep in his arms while in the tub and he would levitate her back to their bed and tuck her in. He missed his wife but he knew that soon enough he would have her back as well as two babies to take care of. He was probably as eager for Hermione to finally pop as she was, though possibly for very different reasons.

One of the hardest parts for Hermione was the fact that it was the end of the year and she was pregnant. If she had thought the year before had been hard she was scrambling to find the correct word to describe her current status. She in addition to her regular Head of House duties, grading and the work she did in relation to the ball commemorating the defeat of Voldemort, she now was lugging around a very heavy and unwieldy pregnancy. She was a bit more relived than she felt she should be when Severus forbid her to do any brewing in her state. She knew that he also did not get much sleep as he was now also brewing the Potions for the party by himself and had begun them about two weeks early so that he could finish on time and still have all his other regular duties done that were required of him as Head of House, Potions Professor and now Deputy Headmaster as well.

After looking at Hermione and making sure that she still slept, Severus eased himself out of bed and threw on his house coat of smooth green silk that Harry and Ginny (of all people) had given him for Christmas earlier that year. He was sure that Hermione had orchestrated that, not that he really minded as it really was a nice house coat. He then carefully left their bedchambers and walked down his chamber's hallway to one of the new rooms. Most of the chambers at Hogwarts had been renovated and expanded due to the Marriage Law and now his chambers were large enough to accommodate his children both on the way and that would soon be arriving in the future due to the Law. There was also a room that had been specially prepared for both Fawkes and Emerald and their nest. In early January Fawkes and Emerald had come to both Severus and Hermione and told them the requirements for building a nest. Both Fawkes and Emerald now talked to both Severus and Hermione, even though it was unusual that the Phoenix talked to anyone but their Keepers, but as they were nesting and both Severus and Hermione were Keepers, they all talked freely together.

Severus made his way down the hall to the nesting room and poked his head inside, the heat of the room warming him comfortably. He saw that Emerald was sitting on the nest at that time, Fawkes off wherever he went while it was not his turn to sit. The nesting room was basically a huge and extra deep hearth that was kept burning by the Phoenix fire that they produced. What exactly that was, neither Hermione or Severus were quite sure, but it appeared to be something similar or in the same category as Fiend Fire, only produced by the Phoenix themselves.

There was a nest of burning embers that at one time had been logs, but had long been reduced to something that was no longer a log, but not really a pile of ash either. Whatever it was, it seemed to be what the Phoenix required. They had originally burned down the pile of logs that had been provided and then there was a dish shaped impression dug in the center, over the ash was laid a layer of what appeared to be down feathers, each of the color of the parent that had plucked it from themselves. Upon this layer of fluffy, super heated down was where two separate eggs had been laid by Emerald in the early part of January.

The fact that there had indeed been a pair of eggs laid by Emerald caused quite a stir between both Severus and Hermione. They had indeed both read the book _The Phoenix and Their Keepers__, _by Sherry Blackwater and while it had mentioned the phenomenon of the Phoenix nesting, it had never mentioned that there were every anymore than one egg at a time. After reading the book again it seemed that it was unusual that the Phoenix did not seem to nest in conjunction to any specific event of the Keepers. After questioning the Phoenix about the phenomenon they had merely refused any specific information, only to say that they were merely providing the next set of Phoenix Keepers with their Companions. After trying to get more information out of them unsuccessfully they had finally given up and had left them generally alone with questions about their eggs.

Letting himself into the room he sat down in the chair that had been moved into the room for both Hermione and himself. It had been moved into the room early on, and it seemed that Hermione and Emerald had a sort of comradely going between them due to the fact that they were both 'nesting' as Emerald had put it. Severus had found that he had been coming to the nesting room far more often that he would have liked in the last couple months, especially in the wee hours of the morning.

He had been having troubling dreams or visions or… well he wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was something that had woken him up in a state that he had not experienced since the first few months that he had decided to turn against Voldemort. The night terrors and the fear that would catch in his chest was something that the usually level headed and stiffly disciplined Potions Master was not accustomed to. He had at first attributed it to perhaps that he was worried about Hermione and her state of being, especially as she was suffering form so much fatigue from the strain of her pregnancy. But he was quite sure that it was not the only source of his problem anymore.

The thing that had cued him in that was something different than just nerves about Hermione's pregnancy was the fact that one morning around April, he had noticed that his left arm had a dull ache that seemed to radiate from the old scar of his Dark Mark. It looked to him as if it was getting to be darker than the faded and almost silvery color of an old scar that it had faded to. He had noticed that as he had gotten to be more content and especially following the first few weeks of his marriage when they were still totally ignoring the world at large, that the old Dark Mark had faded almost into nonexistence. Now ever since April when the nightmares and the night terrors began that the mark had begun to darken. He had even begun to think about trying to cover up the darkening mark to hide it from Hermione so that she would not worry. But that little plan had backfired when she had cornered him one night and asked him what was wrong and would not take anything other than the full truth of what he was trying to cover up. He had reluctantly told and showed her his arm. She worried as he had worried she would, but she did not have much time to devote to worry as he had thought, as she had her own duties to attend to.

Now he had taken to coming to the nesting room and talking to whichever bird was sitting to try to sort out his problems without disturbing what little rest that Hermione was able to catch. As he settled in the seat before the hearth he looked pointedly and almost painfully at Emerald who shifted herself over the blackened greenish eggs beneath her wings and chest.

"You had another dream." Emerald asked him in her soothing coo of a voice in his head. Severus just nodded mutely and rubbed his left forearm absently. "Was it the same as the others?"

"Yes… and no." Severus told her. "This one was more… more… I don't know what to call it. But I know that I saw something more than what I have seen in past dreams. There is something big and very bad coming, I think that it is why my Dark Mark is getting darker, it is responding to the gathering of something Dark, or the increase of some dark force's power. I saw in this dream that there was something in a corner of a basement somewhere in the Wizarding community. Something that has consumed at least one person and that will not stop until it has consumed much more." Severus told her. "I guess I am glad that I don't have to be up in the morning for classes. Now I can sit here and vegetate and not worry about the time."

"We can help you both you know. Fawkes was able to keep you calm and alive during your time alone. We can both sing the songs that will put you back to sleep." Emerald offered for like the fifteenth thousandth time in the last couple months.

"No," Severus shook his head. "You know how I feel about that." He knew all too well how good the Phoenix were at helping their Keepers sleep, but he knew that he had been run so ragged lately that the restorative sleep that they would provide would require him to be asleep long enough to miss classes or other responsibilities that he had taken on in the last few months.

He also did not really want Hermione to be caught up in the Phoenix's song, at least not when she was pregnant, and not so close to her due date. Actually she had been due the week after classes let out, in conjunction with the Celebration of the Defeat of Voldemort. Severus was both relieved and anxious to know that his wife had not gone into labor around the time of the Celebration. He feared it would send her over the edge of what stress she or perhaps it was himself could handle in such a short period of time. It was now two days after their anniversary and Hermione was nearly two weeks overdue from her projected due date. While Madame Pomffery had assured him that both mother and children were more than fine and that her due date was merely a general estimate of the likely date of their children's arrival, Severus was still quite an antsy expectant father. Poor Hermione merely had gotten to the point where she would sit on the couch in front of the hearth with her feet up and poke rather dejectedly at her swollen belly and would ask the occupants of it when they would finally make the decision to enter the world.

"Suit yourself." Was Emerald's response with a light shrug of her wings. "I will advise you that both of you let us help you after the children are hatched. You will all need the rest. Besides a Phoenix song will not harm your chicks before or after they are hatched. It is good to start out chicks the right way, in harmony with our kind, which often does not happen."

"What is that suppose to mean?" Severus asked her only just catching the fact that they were in fact discussing his own 'chicks' and not Emerald's, but it sort of seemed that she was actually talking about her chicks and his 'chicks' in the same context, but he really was not quite sure how, why or in what context.

"Don't worry about it quite yet." Emerald said. "But you should let one of us at least let the whole family get a good rest in before you get into the swing of things with two little chicks to take care of."

"I wish we could go back to the mansion for the summer, but I don't see how we can do it while you are nesting and then right after having the children I don't want to tax Hermione anymore than she already is. I think that it is a wise decision for us to stay in the castle this year despite my desire to take my family out to the country."

"In this case, as I and Fawkes are tied to our nest, I will agree." Emerald told him. "You should be able to leave and go to your second nest next summer, at least from our stand point. It will take us a few years to raise up our chicks so that they can leave our nest. Our chicks will be able to follow us around when they are a few months old, much like we were able after our Burning. After that we will not be using this chamber for a while longer and we can move freely about with you."

Severus merely nodded and sat back further in his chair and closed his eyes. It would not be the first time that he had fallen asleep in the nesting room. Hermione had found him there on a couple of occasions. She had been at first worried for him, especially when it usually was in conjunction with some of his more troubling dreams and episodes where his Dark Mark still hurt. She worried about the state of her husband when he was affected either by his past or by some other most likely dark force that drove him to sit with the Phoenix for comfort. Now she was just grateful that he went to the nesting room so that he could rest. As much as she wished that he could get all the rest he could need beside her, she understood that it had gotten more difficult for the both of them as her pregnancy had progressed. It was also someplace that she knew he was safe and that he would get good advice and a soothing word or song from his or her Companion. She was also quite sure that whoever was on the nest would coo at least a little bit of a soothing song to let him fall asleep, because he really did look as if he felt worlds better when he would come out of the nesting room. Hermione was also aware that Severus did not really want her to be caught up in one of the Phoenix's songs while she so was so close to her due date. But she had been visiting whoever was on the nest and letting the cooing and light humming that they did to their eggs and sometimes to each other, flow over her and let her get a brief rest while she was in there, much like 'power napping'.

Asleep was how Hermione found him some time later in the wee hours of the morning. She had been awoken by what she thought was one of her many nightly trips to the loo and had made her way there. But she quickly learned that it was not completely her routine trip and back to bed. About half way back from the loo she was struck by an intense pain that began at the top of her swollen abdomen and made a slow but unmistakable movement towards the floor. Clutching her self she sunk part way to the floor and rode out the powerful contraction and then checked the clock beside the bed when the pain had finally passed. Picking herself off the cold yet somehow now comfortable dungeon floor and began to make her way back away from the bed and out into the rest of their chambers to find Severus.

She found him slumbering peacefully as Emerald watched on. Just as she made it beside the chair she was hit with a second contraction and was once again reduced to sinking to the floor in pain. Emerald who had been watching her cooed softly at about the time she was half way to the floor and seemed to help her by lessening the pain, though she still found herself curled around her pregnancy paunch on the floor nonetheless.

"Thanks." Hermione panted as she hauled herself back to her feet once the pain and tightness had passed. Hermione could have sworn that Emerald had smiled when she cooed lightly in response. Once she was on her feet again she reached out and gently shook Severus' shoulder to wake him, which he did with a light jump.

"Hey." He mumbled sleepily. "What time is it?" He asked as he stretched and rearranged his housecoat.

"It is time." Hermione told him with a light smile. Poor Severus looked rather confused for a moment until she picked up his hand an laid it on her stomach, letting him feel what she figured was one of the blessedly less painful of the contractions that seemed to be coming closer together now that she had begun moving. She could have sworn that someone had put a firecracker under the chair by the speed that he jumped out of it and suddenly was back in awake mode and very protectively anxious father to be mode.

"Are you sure?" He asked just to make sure that he had heard her correctly.

"Yes." She nodded with a smile that soon turned into a grimace as she was hit once again by a strong contraction and sank to the floor again. This little show sent poor Severus into a near fit of protectiveness as well as something he was not used to… uncertainly. It was as if he could not figure out if he should go and call for help or if he should try to help Hermione. Luckily, as before, Emerald cooed soothingly and helped to speed the contraction along so that she was not on the floor so long.

Finally seeming to remember that he was capable of speech and decision making abilities, Severus called out and a house elf appeared beside him, covering by the force of the directive that a house elf appear immediately. Cutting across the little creature before it had a chance to launch into a long involved speech of how sorry it was, he ordered it to get Madame Pomffery. He then helped to haul Hermione back up from the floor and then quite nearly picked her up as well before she protested enough that he finally could not. He then helped her back to their bedchambers where he set her up on their bed and fidgeted with the bed sheets.

About this time Madame Pomffery bustled into their chambers via the Floo that had been set up with an open connection to the Hospital wing for just such an occurrence about two weeks before her due date. She looked only slightly disheveled and Severus wondered vaguely how she looked so calm, as Severus was indeed already a complete mess and his wife had been in labor for only nearly a half an hour at most. He was unable to stand still and had begun fidgeting with whatever bit of anything he could get his hands on in a very un-Severus like manner.

After about five minutes of this Madame Pomffery finally ordered him out of the room at nearly wand point, because he was causing Hermione 'extra and undue stress' as she put it. Severus, who had been trained early on in his life to be respectful of one's elders, or at least to listen to the school's nurse when she spoke, was left nearly speechless by her wanded assertions that he leave and was pushed out before he could really protest. Only when he was standing in his very own, suddenly chilly, living room, still in nothing but his house coat, facing a closed and presumably locked bedchamber door did the thought occur to him that he should have taken the time to get dressed. Turning on his heal he pounded on the door with a fist.

"What about my clothes!?" He nearly bellowed at the door. "I can't be locked out here in only this!" He was nearly ready to pound on the door again when it was opened just wide and long enough for his clothes to be flung at him, as he caught them against his chest.

"I contacted Minerva before I came. You might want to get into those clothes soon before the others get here." Madame Pomffery told him scoldingly.

Severus could have sworn he had heard Hermione laugh at his dumbfounded expression as the door was once again shut disturbingly close to his nose by the reining Medical Matriarch of Hogwarts.

**A/N: Sooo… poor Severus, kicked out of his own bedroom in nothing more than a house coat, and well poor Hermione too, child birth, sounds painful! Well I don't think it will take a rocket scientist to figure out what occurs in the next chapter. I know even with that it sort of is a cliffie isn't it. oh well, I guess you will all just have to wait until I post the next chapter. Please review, they keep this author's imagination well fed and eager to produce more tasty chapters for you all to read.**

**I do have the next chapter written, but I will be waiting until at least next week to post it. I like to give myself some time between updates to get some writing done without any pressure. I will have some time to do writing this week I hope. And if you don't see anything for this story up next week, check out my author's page as I am currently toying/ writing a short little one shot or mini-ficlet that I would like to have finished and posted by next week. Currently the working title for my little ficlet is The Trouble with Furby, but it may change along the way. I can guarantee that I will be updating this fic within two weeks though, barring any great natural disaster or act of God. I can't keep everyone in suspense for too long, especially myself. I always want to see what the response will be to whatever I post. **

**Thanks as always to my wonderful beta and fanfic sis **Skydancinghobbit** who listens to my whine and helps me 'de-crunchy' some of my stories, as occasionally I drop an eggshell into the batter and then have to find it before I post. She is also the one to help me with ideas and encouragement when I get stuck or I get writers block. She is the one to come along and hand me the lit stick of dynamite to get rid of the blockage. Thanks! I know I haven't been a wonderful beta for reviews, but never fear, another mass reviewing session will occur, hopefully before the end of the month!**

**Anyways, thanks to anyone who has actually read all the way to the end of my recicoulously long authors notes. Love you al, and I am glad you have such patcience. Please drop me a review to let me know how you liked or (heaven forbid) didn't like it. I would really like to know either way, just don't swear at me, that is in bad taste. **

**In the meantime, Live, Laugh, Love~ Dragons Quill**


	24. Raven's 'Chicks'

**A/N: hey everyone, I know I said I would post this week, and I have, see…, just not when I normally do. This week has been hectic and all messed up. My 91 year old grandma fell on Monday and broke her hip, so things at home have been a bit on the uptight side, well I should say much more uptight than 'normal', though normal is relative. Because of that, the party for my parent's 25****th**** anniversary that is going to happen in about 2 weeks, homework and actual work, things have been slowly eating away at my fan fic time. But never fear I am writing just a bit every night so I will have more soon.**

**Anyway, I have posted the next chapter for you all to enjoy, just as a side note, no I have never been pregnant, given birth, or in fact dealt with anyone close to me who was pregnant, sooo… yeah if I have gotten anything horribly wrong about the birthing process sorry. All I know is that when I finally want a family of my own, I hate needles but an epidural is sounding absolutely like the most fabulous thing that could ever happen to me!**

**Alright, you have all dealt with the horribly long authors notes at the beginning, so on to the chapter, that you all really want to read! Enjoy!**

Chapter 24

_Raven's 'Chicks'_

To say that Severus was an anxious father (to be) was to declare possibly the biggest understatement of the century. After his 'shocking' and completely unanticipated eviction from his own bedchambers Severus had managed to regain his ability to think in a straight and coherent line and had made his way off to what was going to be the nursery so that he could actually get into something that resembled clothing. By the time that he had managed to change, he found that his living room had been invaded by more people than he ever wanted to see, and Fawkes had returned from wherever to sit on his perch. All eyes turned to him when he finally made his way into the room.

Harry and Ginny Potter, Tonks, Lupin, Minerva, and even Shannon and Neville had invaded his living quarters. The only people that Severus was even remotely happy to see were Arthur and Molly who had just stepped through the Floo. Molly bustled over quickly and gave him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek, before he could stop her. She looked slightly disheveled about the whole ordeal before she somehow managed to get into his bedchambers without a second thought. Arthur came over and shook his hand and embraced him in another 'man hug', though he was less inclined to be worried about the whole ordeal, as he was more interested in what was occurring behind the closed door of his bedchambers with his wife.

"Well the time has finally come!" Arthur beamed, looking just like he had merely thrown on clothes, and not bothered to brush his hair. Severus shook his hand rather absently and kept the bulk of his attention at what was occurring on the other side of the closed door. Arthur sort of chuckled and helped to steer Severus towards the empty chair in front of the fireplace. "All will be well." He assured him firmly.

At this time the rest of the assembly came forward, offered their congratulations and shook his hand. The only exception to this was Minerva who insisted on giving him a hug, which in his distracted state he did not seem to have the energy, or perhaps attention to prevent. When it was his turn Harry assured him that things would go fine and that he would not have to worry about dealing with Ron or Lavender. They had been the ones elected as the babysitters 'in mass' for this particular birth. It was also known that Ron was still rather bent out of shape over the whole deal that Hermione had actually married the Potions Master and not himself. Severus didn't particularly like any of the 'Golden Trio', but he had come to an understanding of sorts with Harry. But an understanding with Ron was more of a tenuous and uneasy truce in any matter. The occurrence of Ron being absent was no great loss to Severus.

After a few minutes of relative silence, in which Severus had reduced a corner of a handkerchief into practically its component threads, there was a definite, but muffled scream of pain from the bedchamber. Severus's overprotective nature was pricked into action. He made as if to storm the door, even though his fully rational mind knew full well that there would be pain involved in the whole child birthing process, he still wanted to find a way to get rid of the pain. Even the different Potions usually used during childbirth, which he had made an extra large supply of, could only do so much, but he still wanted to do more. He was prevented from reducing his chamber's door to splinters by two pairs of gentle, but strong hands on his shoulders. Minerva and Arthur had not returned to their seats, but had chosen to stand flanking him behind his chair. Both restrained him from getting up.

"Everything will be fine." Minerva assured him. "Hermione is a strong girl and will do well." Severus' reply was something akin to a guttural grunt that would have been more suited for communication in caveman times, rather than coming from the normally highly articulate Potions Master.

"I remember when Molly had the twins." Arthur commented almost wistfully. "Thought it would take forever, but it really only took a few hours and it was all over with."

"_Hours_!?" Severus nearly croaked. "I can't sit here and listen to my wife scream in agony for hours!"

"You have little choice." Minerva commented. "You can't have these children for her and you shouldn't go in and disturb her either. She is in very capable hands. Madame Pomffery and Molly are both very experienced in this sort of thing."

"Here." Harry offered Severus. He held out a glass with ice and a generous helping of Firewhiskey. "I am sure that it will help calm your nerves."

"No." Severus shook his head and growled through gritted teeth. "Not for me. I have had no reason to drink emotionally since I was married. The last time I drank emotionally ended up very badly, very badly indeed. I will stay sober for this, at least for now."

"Suit yourself; I know it helped me when Ginny was in labor. It took the edge off."

"Good for you Mr. Potter." He sneered at him. Harry merely and generously took it all in stride. He knew that Severus was not necessarily trying to start a fight, but was so worried about Hermione that he was biting at whatever hand got in his way.

It was another half hour before anything different happened. Severus sat and tried to stay stony faced at the increasingly pained sounds that came from the bedroom. He though had accomplished to nearly unravel the entire handkerchief due to his excessive fidgeting with it in the meantime. Minerva and Arthur would offer assurances and kept him pinned down to the seat, though more mentally than physically. And the others in the room spent the time on small talk and catching up with each other about what their summers would hold and what had already happened in its first week. It was at this time that the door to the bedchambers opened and a sweaty and frazzled Madame Pomffery stuck her head out the door.

"Severus!" She said in a stern voice that made him unconsciously sink slightly into the seat as if he had done something wrong. "Get in here! _NOW_!" Severus quickly rose from the seat and nearly flew over to the door.

"What is wrong?!" He asked slightly panicked sounding.

"Nothing." She assured him. "But Hermione keeps insisting that you are in here when she gives birth. Every time she insists upon it, it is as if she is purposely retaining the babies a little longer even though her body is quite intent upon expelling them. I can not do anything to change her mind. So Severus, are going to have to be here for her birth."

Severus wasn't quiet sure if he should be relieved or even more apprehensive. In the Wizarding world it was still a custom that only woman were present in the room for a birth, and the custom of all ranks with few exceptions, surviving from at least the Victorian Era, if not earlier than that. Severus had heard, mainly through Hermione, that it was the custom in the muggle world for the father to be present at the birth, and video taping such an event. Hermione had to spend a good half hour explaining what a video camera was before Severus was comfortable enough to know what it did…, sort of. But he still could not get the reason why anyone would want to waste the time and film space for something that no one was going to see anyways. It was certainly not something he would want anyone but the necessary people i.e. the nurse and her helper, to see. That portion of his wife was off limits to everyone else except himself and of course Hermione. He just couldn't get it. Hermione had given up about explaining what many fathers did in the muggle world after about an hour and half of obscure questions and references concerning the whole birthing process.

Severus stepped bravely, boldly as well as timidly into his own bed chambers to see his wife. Hermione was propped up in bed and was drenched in sweat and panting as it seemed she had just finished a contraction. Severus crossed immediately over to her and took her hand that she had offered out.

"Ah Severus, I can't do it without you here. You should see your children born." She panted. "And having you beside me gives me strength." Severus could do little but nod and look terribly worried as Hermione was hit by another contraction. She clutched at his hand and nearly broke at least three bones in his hand at the grip that she had it in. He watched as Hermione nearly growled like an injured animal and her face was transformed to an angry snarl as the contraction hit and wore on. He could hear Madame Pomffery and Molly encouraging her, but he really didn't listen, only really paying attention to Hermione as she rode out the pain. Then the contraction was over and she fell back to the pillows panting. She blinked her eyes and looked at Severus with a weak smile. He really could not understand why or how in the world she would be able to smile in the least bit. He reached out and pushed the little bits of hair that had fallen and now clung to her sweaty forehead.

"Come on dear, you must sit up." Molly encouraged her. "You don't have too much more and then you will get to meet your children."

Hermione panted and tried to sit up and prop herself up higher in the bed on the pillows, but it really seemed to be a lost cause. Severus could not stand to see her like that. He was determined that he would give her some comfort, even if he could not remove all the discomfort involved with her bearing his children. Severus rose from kneeling beside the bed and climbed in with her, sitting behind her, supporting her back against his chest and his legs on either side of her. Molly and Madame Pomffery both looked rather surprised by Severus' rather intimate display of affection. But they did not have much time to ponder such an occurrence as Hermione was once again hit with another contraction. Severus held her hands through out it and caught her against his chest when it was through. He was seemingly totally oblivious to anyone else in the room and whispered quiet words of encouragement into her ear.

This continued on for perhaps another half hour before something that Madame Pomffery said actually broke through to Severus. This was announcement that she could see the top of his first child's head. This seemed to encourage Hermione and she rallied a greater amount of strength and he was suddenly a father. A small very red bundle of screaming child was quickly passed off to Molly by Madame Pomffery, who was turning back to a panting and nearly fully exhausted Hermione.

"You have a son!" Molly declared from across the room where a table had been conjured. She was drying the small struggling child off and then putting him into his very first diaper before she wrapped him up in a blanket

"One more to go dear." Madame Pomffery smiled at them both. Hermione only managed an exhausted groan that turned into another growl as another contraction hit her.

Luckily for everyone involved the appearance of their second child took only a few minutes. Their daughter too was whisked away to the table where she was treated to the same handling as her marginally older brother. Hermione fell back against Severus for the last time and panted up at him with her eyes barely open.

"You did it." Severus told her softly, kissing her sweaty temple tenderly. "I am finally a father and you are a mother, twice over. I love you."

"And I love you too." Hermione said in a tired and slightly raspy voice, reaching up a bit weakly to touch his jaw line. Severus smiled and removed himself from behind Hermione to help her lie down after Madame Pomffery had finished what she needed to after, giving her a laundry list of Potions to help her heal after giving birth and had cleaned Hermione up a bit. He then helped pick her up so that the summoned house elves could quickly change the bed sheets. Laying her back down he turned around and was greeted by a beaming Molly.

"Here is your son." She smiled up at him, offering him out to Severus to take.

Severus looked apprehensively at her and the small still squirming bundle in her arms. He did not immediately make any action to take the small child from her. "But…" He seemed unsure about the whole deal and shifted on his feet in a still very un-Severus like way.

"Come now." Molly still smiled up at him. "You won't hurt the little one. I daresay that there is little you can do at this point to hurt him. Just don't drop or shake him. You will do just fine." She assured him and quite nearly thrust the small child into his arms.

Severus cautiously took his son into his arms and looked down at him. His son quieted for a moment and seemed to stare back at him. He could see that the child had dark hair on top of his head that looked slightly curly and dark eyes like himself. He could not tell if the child would be pale as himself as he was quite red all over from his entrance into the world. With a small smile forming on his lips and a warm feeling in his heart he turned to Hermione who reached out and took her son to herself.

As soon as he had turned back from handing Hermione their son, Molly handed him his second child, a girl. He seemed slightly more at ease taking his second child and looked down at her as well. She was a little smaller than her brother and looked up at him. She had what appeared to be straight hair and slightly less dark eyes. She was also bright red as her brother, so if she was pale was hard to tell. She seemed to stop squirming as she looked up at her father and gurgled slightly at him. The warm feeling in his chest spread and Severus could not help but smile as he crossed over to sit next to Hermione on the bed. Even he had to admit that looking down at his daughter in his arms and Hermione holding his son that his heart was warmed, perhaps even melted to know that he had helped to create these two beautiful children.

Just as he was beginning to get comfortable Molly bustled back over to the bedside and gave them both some news that neither were eager to hear. "You do know that you have to perform the naming ceremony, and quite soon too. After that we will leave you alone to rest."

Severus scowled at her, sort of. He found it hard to be in a foul mood while holding his child in his arms. "Well we had best get it over with." He grumbled. "Then our chambers will once again be our own."

"Who all is out there?" Hermione asked sleepily, cuddling her son.

"All of your friends and some who claim to be mine as well." He told her. "Young Mister Weasley and his wife are not though; they were evidently the chosen babysitters for this occasion."

"Ah Ron." Hermione nodded. "He still hasn't quite come to terms with it I don't think. I just hope that he will some day."

"If he doesn't it is no great loss to me personally."

"Men." Hermione rolled her eyes dramatically and sounded rather disgusted with him, but leaned against him anyways.

"So, do they still get the names we picked out? Or do they fit a different name?" Severus asked as he surveyed his children. "I believe this little one deserves the name we picked out for her. What is your assessment of our son and my heir? Does he live up to the Snape family name?"

"You are being all too serious now." Hermione smiled. "He has only been in the world an hour at most and you are already setting him high standards. How about we just let him be a baby for right now." Severus humphed his displeasure though the grin on his face told a different story. "As for the name we picked, I believe he is a good strong boy who will do the Snape family name justice."

"Good, now let us get this over with so that we can all get some much needed rest. I have been persuaded by Emerald to let the Phoenix give us at least one good rest before things start going completely crazy with two babies here." Severus told her.

He got up from the bed and handed his daughter off to Molly who had been hovering beside the bed and then Hermione handed off their son to Madame Pomffery who was also still in the room. Severus then picked Hermione up and carried her into the other room where everyone was waiting eagerly for the naming ceremony to begin. Severus sat Hermione down carefully in the chair he had been occupying before and then took his son from Madame Pomffery. Holding his son he showed those gathered in the room his son.

"This is my first born son and my heir, Sebastian Samuel Snape." Severus told everyone. "He will carry on the Snape family line." Severus then handed Sebastian off to Hermione and then took his daughter from Molly. "This is my second born daughter, Serenity Sarah Snape." He said, also showing her to the gathered assembly. "They are my children and I am their father, nothing that happens will ever change that fact." With that he kissed the forehead of each child an then a quick peck on the very tired lips of Hermione. Once he had done that he turned back to those assembled. "Now I have done my part. My children have been born and named. Now I don't want to see any of you in my chambers again until you are explicitly invited in by me or my wife, only Madame Pomffery and Minerva excluded. Other than that, clear out we are exhausted and have no tolerance for idle chatter. You will all get a chance at a later date to get a closer look at my children."

Everyone in the room understood what he was saying. Each had gone through the exhaustion of childbirth on either one side of the door or the other. They also knew that Severus was an extremely private person and marriage had not changed the fact that he would readily chase away anyone foolish enough to come to his door to just talk. They all knew that it was wise to quickly vacate the premises now that all the excitement was over. Only Molly, Arthur and Madame Pomffery stayed behind.

"I am so happy for you both." Arthur smiled. "I am sure that you will be having your hands full for the rest of the summer."

"I am sure we will." Hermione smiled weakly, holding the now sleeping Sebastian.

"Make sure that you feed them as soon as they wake up." Madame Pomffery said. "If you think anything is ever amiss with these two little bundles, remember I am just a Floo call away and I will be around shortly. Otherwise I am sure that if you need other help that the house elves will be more than happy to assist you. It has been a long time since there has even been one young child in the castle. They were most pleased by the Longbottom's little boy and now you have one of each for them to fawn over. I can't imagine what your house elves Severus will think when you bring these two home."

"Well I really am not worried about that." Severus told her rather flatly. "Right now I care only about getting some much needed sleep. Madame Pomffery would you go get the crib out of the nursery and Arthur will you help bring the children into our bedroom."

Both nodded and Severus handed off Serenity to Molly and Hermione handed Sebastian to Arthur. Severus picked Hermione up and took her back to their bed. Madame Pomffery soon bustled into the bedchamber and set the crib up beside the bed. Then Severus carefully laid his sleeping children inside it. Fawkes had joined them in the room and sat regally on the top rail of the crib, looking down at the two babies below. He spread his wings out and bobbed his head, letting out a small cooing thrum from his chest.

"So you approve do you." Hermione said with a tired smile as she watched him look as though he was trying to cover the babies with his wings, as if they were his own chicks. Fawkes ruffled his feathers and bobbed his head again looking very much like he had a slightly smug look on his face.

"You are far too happy bird." Severus told him rather sternly with his trademark eyebrow raised as he looked down at his children and could nearly look Fawkes in the eye from his vantage point. Fawkes let go a thrill that sounded far too much like a laugh for the express comfort of the occupants of the room. The children below Fawkes stirred slightly but remained asleep in the shadow of the Phoenix.

"_All will be fine."_ Fawkes assured them both in his way of speaking to them. _"It is only natural to be extra protective of your first hatched chicks. The first egg I helped hatch was so protected it is a wonder she was ever able to go out and be a proper Phoenix."_ He chuckled with a light laugh and seemed to shake his head lightly. _"Be assured that they will grow strong and you needn't worry over every little trivial thing. They will survive more things than you fear they won't."_

Severus looked at Fawkes in a hard manner, almost as if he was trying to use Legilimency on him. After a moment he sighed and with a shrug and light shake of his head he went back over to his side of the bed and after toeing off his shoes and undressing to his normal nightwear (Severus in the buff _wahoo_!) he slipped into bed to lie beside Hermione. She was laid out on her side of the bed closest to the crib and moved a bit closer to him as he slid to the center of the bed. She was exhausted and still sore, but the Potions had begun healing her body after giving birth and her health and body would soon be what it was before she was pregnant. Severus reached for her and drew her close to nestle against his chest. It felt good to feel as she once again fit against him now that she was no longer pregnant. She snuggled against him and just as he kissed her forehead lightly Fawkes began a low, comforting thrill in his chest. Severus felt as Hermione snuggled closer to him and he felt as she went limp as her breathing evened out and she finally got the sleep she so desperately needed.

Severus thought as he too also drifted off to sleep that it was amazing that she even still let him touch her after all the pain and discomfort he had just caused her, bringing their children into the world. But he didn't have too much time to think about such a phenomenon as he too was soon drifting away into the much needed abyss that was sleep.

Once Fawkes was satisfied that the whole family was sleeping soundly he stopped his singing and then turned his attentions to the little ones below him. He was most pleased by the chicks hatched out by his Master and Misteress. Leaning down into the crib he carefully cried out a single tear onto each child, into their tiny open mouths. Once he had done so he fluffed out his feathers and glided over to the unlit fireplace. With a couple rather harsh sounding noises there was a burst of flame where Fawkes flew through the fireplace and into the nesting room. It was his turn to sit on the eggs.

**A/N: awe, well isn't that totally awesome! Severus is a daddy! And he got to witness it! I is all warm and fuzzy on the inside! I know I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. **

**It will be a while I believe before I can post the next chapter. I have part of the next chapter written, but I am not totally happy with it and I don't want to post something I don't like. I am also dealing with the fact I have come to the part of the story where I know how it ends, but there are so many ways that I could go about getting there that I am having trouble picking which one. I had a plan that I thought I would follow, but it has come to my attention that I can not follow that original path some time ago. Now the problem is choosing which of the remaining paths to write. I know that I will have to choose soon, but I can promise you all that Draco will get his just desserts and there will be a happy ending, because I like happy endings. There is also quite a squeeze on my time lately but that should let up before the end of next month, whew!**

**At this point I think I will be posting part of The Trouble with Furby next week as that is almost done and is something lighter than what I am writing next. It will also give me a chance to write ahead on this story a bit too.**

**Anyways, love to all. Thanks for the lovely reviews you have all left so far! As always a big hug and thanks to my wonderful beta **Skydancinghobbit** who has helped me through this chapter as someone who has watched **_**way**_** to much/many baby shows and thinks what I wrote sounds plausible. Thanks to everyone who has read all the way to the end and please drop me a review! I always love to hear what everyone out there in fanficland thinks of what I write. Live, Laugh, Love! ~ Dragons Quill**


	25. Bonding Anew

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews that you all left. I have gotten a new computer in the time since I updated, which has taken a chuck of my time to change everything over to a new and hopefully much more reliable computer! It has an astronomical amount of storage which is awesome. I can have games, and Music! At the same time! Imagine! Ok, well I have the next chapter up for you all, another warm and fuzzy one before I dive into something more serious. Hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 25

_Bonding Anew _

Both Severus and Hermione were woken from their Phoenix induced slumber by a piercing wail, joined quickly by a matching sound coming from a similar source. Severus was a bit groggy and rather confused about the whole ordeal for a brief moment as his brain tried to figure out what was making that atrocious sound. Hermione on the other hand seemed to be a bit faster on the uptake. This could possibly have been precipitated by the fact she had just birthed out a pair of babies, something distinctively hard to forget, both the process as well as the relief that she no longer was lugging that extra weight and 'personage' about. She still did not react very quickly though. Despite the fact that she had been given healing and strengthening Potions and had been under the Phoenix rest, she was still very depleted after the whole ordeal. For the most part though she was also trying to get used to the fact that her balance had changed yet again and now she had to learn to walk as she had before her center of gravity had moved in about the middle of her pregnancy.

Slipping carefully out of bed she went to the crib and picked up a wailing Sebastian and then took him over to Severus who looked apprehensively at the squalling and squirming bundle. After a pointed look from Hermione, Severus rather reluctantly took him into his arms and rather instinctively began to rock back and forth in an attempt to quite him. In the mean time Hermione had gotten out Serenity and had brought her also back to the bed. Hermione then proceeded to unbutton the upper half of her night gown, catching Severus' attention perhaps more than she intended. She then offered a breast out to Serenity who after a few tries managed to latch on and began to consume her first meal with gusto. Then after a moment Hermione reached out and Severus handed over Sebastian as well. Then with a little help Sebastian also managed to latch on and begin his first feeding.

Severus was enthralled and moved in a way he could not describe watching his wife and children together like that. It was something that he had never thought he would ever see or experience for himself and he could feel that every single hard portion of his heart at that point had melted and been replaced with this wonderful downy mass of love for Hermione and now the children that he had helped create. Hermione looked up from where she was feeding the babies and looked at Severus with a tired yet shinning smile.

"Aren't they beautiful?" She smiled. "We're parents. It's just too much to believe." She had tears shinning in her eyes, but they were from overwhelmingly happiness and perhaps just a bit of a hormonal rush as well, rather than something sad.

"Yes, we are." Severus said quietly with a smile looking at her sounding almost whimsical. He leaned over and gave her a light peck on the lips before he sat back and observed his family.

"And to think." Hermione said a bit laughingly after a moment. "They both all fit inside me! I am so glad they are out! Though I will not profess to enjoy childbirth by any means!"

"You are not the only one." Severus agreed. "I did not enjoy watching you in pain. I would have gladly suffered the pain if it meant you did not have to go through it. But at least this was one of those times where I could step back, watch and have a happy outcome. Unlike the many other times that I was forced to endure a similar occurance that had a far less positive outcome." He said this with a bit of a dark edge to his tone, remembering the revels and torture sessions he had to witness and participate in.

"I will agree." Hermione told him, catching the sad sharpness in his voice. She leaned towards him and gave him a less than chaste kiss due to the fact she could not give him a hug as both arms were currently occupied. Severus understood and wrapped one arm around her in a half hug as not to squash the babies. He cuddled her close as he could as she shifted to be more comfortable against his chest and he reached down to run his hand along the top of Serenity's head, feeling her tiny baby fine hair beneath his fingers, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Although," Hermione said with a slightly devilish grin. "You do know that there are suppose to be places and tribes in the world that when the women are in labor they tie a rope around things down there on the father and every time that she has a contraction she pulls the rope. It is so that the guy can feel the pain of what he has done too."

"No, and I can't say I needed to particularly know such a fact." Severus said going slightly pale and shifting a bit uncomfortably at the thought, unconsciously bringing his legs closer together. Hermione could not hold back a laugh and chuckled at his discomfort and Severus gifted her with the best 'you must die' look he could, though it was highly ineffective due to the fact he was very much without his billowing black robes of doom (or anything else for that matter). This only managed to make Hermione laugh more. After a moment she had mercy on him and diverted her attention back to her babies as they were beginning to get fussy.

"Here you can have Serenity." Hermione said leaning towards Severus so he could take Serenity from her arms. "She seems to have finished. You will want of burp her." Hermione told him. "And you will definitely want this." She said, reaching over and retrieving her wand and conjuring a towel for his shoulder. Severus looked at her questioningly.

"What?" He asked looking distinctively confused.

"Trust me, you will defiantly want to use it." She assured him.

"But what am I suppose to do?" Severus asked. He had brought the now rather cranky Serenity in the beginning stages of working her way up to a good wail close to his chest and was rocking her slightly.

"Put her over your shoulder and pat her back. She probably just has some air in her stomach and needs to get it out. She will be ok once you do that. Just make sure that it is on the side with the towel!"

Severus understood in theory what he was supposed to do, but the execution of it was a bit of a problem. Finally after a bit of negotiation with a very unhappy little one, he was able to put her over his shoulder and began to pat and rub her back. After a moment of his attentions there was a gurglie burp from what seemed like the depths of her toes. Along with the great baby belch came a feeling of wet warmness on his shoulder that Severus was not quite sure how to place.

"Ah…?" He said uncertainly after a moment of attempting to place what the feeling was.

"Oh dear." Hermione said looking at him. She grabbed her wand and pointed it at his shoulder. She then cleaned off his shoulder before Severus could really figure out what was going on and had banished the towel. Severus held Serenity out so that he could look at her. She just looked back sleepily and moved her mouth around like she might be chewing something. Then she began to squirm again and he cradled her to his chest in the crook of his arm.

"What was that?" He asked Hermione. She was just putting Sebastian over her shoulder. She did not immediately answer although Sebastian seemed to answer for her as he also gave a great big baby belch and spewed what he had just eaten all over Hermione's shoulder. Realization dawned on Severus and he looked sharply down and the now sleeping Serenity. "Is that what she did?" He asked as he waved his hand over her shoulder and vanished his son's first meal. "Did _any_ of it stay down?"

"Yes some must have stayed down." Hermione said. "She looks content enough. But yeah, that happens sometimes. They just eat too fast and get too much air in their stomachs. It hurts, so they cry and you have to get it out." She was cuddling Sebastian who was also falling asleep as well.

"How do you know so much about this?" He asked her in amazement. "Is all of this information just something found in your genetics? Is it something that just surfaces when you become a mother? I certainly don't know any of this information you just seem to spout out without any thought!"

Hermione chuckled at that. "I thought you already knew back in my First year that I know it all. But in all seriousness, some of it is just natural. But a good deal of it I had to learn, just as you will over time. Some of it I was taught, I would take baby sitting jobs during the summer so that I could have pocket money for the school year. Some of the little, little baby stuff I learned from reading books and I spent some time with the other little bitty babies in the castle figuring out how the whole deal works. It really does help to be one of the last to give birth in a group. Then you can watch and ask questions about how to deal with your own when you finally have them. Molly is a wonderful resource as well. She did have a whole troop of kids herself.

Don't worry I am sure that you will have no problem with these guys. It seems that you are already a natural at some of this. You have succeeded in putting Serenity to sleep every time you hold her. She feels safe and loved in your arms, just like me. You will get along very well with your children I suspect. You are already a wonderful husband; you will certainly be a wonderful father."

"Well it doesn't seem like I have a choice. I don't suspect that I could return them if I wanted to." He said both with apprehension and with a light joke.

"You got that right; I am certainly not taking any returns on this delivery!" Hermione agreed heartily. "Besides this was a special order and they can't be returned, they come as is."

"That sounds like a good thing." Severus said.

"Hope you still say that when they are teens, or even when they are toddlers. It is hard enough to raise non magical kids; I have no idea how to deal with the terrible twos and magic all at once. When is magic supposed to manifest in most magical children?"

"It varies a lot in our world. But pure bloods like to see their children showing signs of magic by the time they are three or so. Any later and it is feared that they are a squib and a black mark on the family's name. Many are forced to show that they have magical abilities at a very young age.

As for me, I believe it is a miracle that I ever had children and I will love them no matter. Though because you are not of a magical stock in a strictly blood reference, it is very unlikely that we will produce squibs. The magical community, especially of the higher class Pureblood families are actually quite interbreed and just like when breeding stock or even a specific breed of dog, when the breeding population is that closely related through marriages within close relatives, problems tend to pop up. While my family tree had a few black marks in the traditional sense, both in issues of 'purity' and squibs, yours brings in new blood. Though I must say, as you well know, my father would be or is spinning in his grave for sure by our union. But I say too bad for him, I am the happiest man alive and the luckiest. I have you as my wife and I have two beautiful children that I helped bring into the world. What more could a man ask for?"

"I love you too." Hermione said with a smile and gave him a half hug and a kiss. "As for any wants or desires, all I want is to snuggle with you." She shifted so that she was leaning against his chest as he sat back against the headboard.

"I am surprised that you will even let me touch you after all that." He marveled aloud, stroking her hair with his free hand and kissing the crown of her head.

"How could I not want you to touch me?" She asked. "You make me feel alive. Although I will warn you off on the whole sex thing for a while. I can assure you that I still desire you and want very much to accommodate you in that fashion, but whoa man, I need some time to heal! Even with the Potions I need time to recover and get used to these guys before we strive to make any more! Although, I am certainly not opposed to cuddling. I suspect though that we will not be forced to do anything by that stupid law, we will most certainly be under compliance before the deadline. I certainly have missed that connection. Though, as it has been only about eight hours since these guys have entered the world, I am not overly anxious for anything or anyone to make a visit down there just yet."

"I am just glad you still want anything to do with me." He said.

"Isn't it supposed to the woman who is all worried about how her husband will react to her changed shape?" Hermione chuckled lightly and tiredly, as she had slumped against Severus' chest as it seemed she was slowly loosing the battle to stay awake.

"Let me assure you that I will always desire you." Severus assured her. "It is what makes you, you that I want, and a nice body is a bonus. Besides you carried my children, whatever changes may or may not have occurred in your shape, I am most eager to have you what ever your shape. You have loved me despite the physical flaws that I see in myself, you have accepted and loved all that shames me most, how could I do anything else. Fear not my beautiful Hermione I will always love you."

Severus' only response was a sighing breath from Hermione. She had fallen asleep propped up against his chest. Sebastian was also asleep in his mother's arms and Serenity was resting, nesting in the crook of his arm against his chest. He had his arm around Hermione and it rested atop her now much flatter belly. Severus could not help but smile as he held his entire family in his arms. This was something he had never believed would be his, something that was for everyone else. But now he had a family and children of his own. This is what he had fought so long and so hard for, now he was reaping the benefits of his work as a spy. This is what contentment was, this was his reward. With that happy thought Severus put his head back against the big tall headboard of the bed and he also found himself drifting off to sleep to the chorus of three sets of soft breathing.

The sleeping family was to be disturbed about an hour later by a wafting and pungent odor and the wail of its originator; time for the Master of Potions to learn to become a Master of Diapers as well!

**A/N: hehe, Severus is now going to learn to change a diaper! He has been initiated with puke and now he gets to survive the thrill of the first diaper change! I know I am not being very nice! And I enjoy it too much! Yes I know the house elves could do it, and I think I will let them later on, but I am going off the pretense that Hermione has told them off for the first couple days so that she and Severus can bond with the babies. It just seemed like the best and easiest thing to do. **

**I don't know when I will get the next chapter up, I would like to do so as soon as I can, but I have a packed schedule the next couple weeks. I am the baker for most of the stuff that is at my parent's 25****th**** wedding anniversary party at the end of the week, and we will also have company. It is going to be hugely busy so I hope that I have time to write even a little. But never fear, I will be posting again as soon as I can get something good written.**

**As always I must thank my wonderful friend and beta** Skydancinghobbit**. She has some awesome stuff up on her page that you should all go check out on your way out. Or if you are so inclined, check out some of the other stuff that I have written. **

**Please drop me a review to let me know what you think of what I have written so far. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed my stuff so far!! Live, Laugh, Love!~ Dragons Quill**


	26. The Devil's Hatchery

**A/N: sneaks in trying to hide behind the well worn trash can lid waving white flag. I know I know, I am sorry that it has taken sooooooooo long to post! My life has literally been turned **_**upside down**_**! I am part way through moving from where I have always lived to an apartment. And I was in a rollover accident on Monday; luckily I was alone, only the grace of God and many prayers let me walk away with only a couple of small scrapes on my hand. I was on the way to pick up a friend, I am so glad it was before I picked her up. The car is not salvageable and I have to get my things out of it before my dad takes it to the junkyard, but all in all I am ok, a bit stiff but everything is still in working order and nothing was broken on my person, including my glasses. God is awesome in indescribable ways!!!! **

**So that is why I have not been able to post yet. I have also been doing some major editing and re reading up to this point. I will be reposting all of the chapters for both the stories in this series (The Phoenix, The Raven, and Prince Charming, and Raising Phoenix) over the next few days or so. For those of you who have read them as they were originally posted don't worry the content has not changed. I have only realigned paragraphs, fixed spelling and grammar errors and alike. The story has not changed. So never fear. If you do go back you will not notice more than a handful of word changes, word additions and alike. That is it. **

**Now that I have written a long and exhaustive authors notes, I will let you get on to this much awaited chapter. Enjoy. **

Chapter 26

_The Devil's Hatchery_

The morning of Halloween dawned bright and crisp. The morning frost thawed to dew and then to nothingness by eight in the morning in the sunshine. The large flocks of birds had nearly all left a few weeks prior as the days got shorter, they were smart, they were leaving before the snow fell, following the harvest of berries and seeds for them to eat. The animals that were to stay the winter were stocking up for the snow that would fall in a few weeks' time and the wild creatures were fattening themselves up for the lean time of year.

This was happening everywhere except the land on which the Malfoy house stood. The plants grew well and the berry brambles were heavy with fruit. But no mice were to be found scurrying around the house to steal flour or bread and no birds had touched the plenty outside on the grounds. All of the wildlife was wise enough to stay away from cursed land, none desired to become a prey item to something they could not fight.

It had been five months since Hermione and Hattie had bore their husband's children. Hattie had born Draco a son to be his heir and inheritor, Draco had named him Scoripus Lucius Malfoy. Hattie had been merely happy that Draco had only named the child and then left the rest up to her and the house elves. The only time she had to really deal with Draco was when he felt like relieving his baser needs or the law required that Draco engage her. She had gotten to the point where her body was merely a participant and her brain went and did something else for however long Draco chose for it to last.

Halloween was bright, clear, cool and crisp; everything a good fall day should be like. The house elves that Draco had acquired were preparing a lovely spread of food for the evening meal that Hattie would have to attend and look good for it, even though there was no one going to be coming. Normally Draco would have people over for such a meal and occasion, but this year was different. This year he was waiting for his father to come out of the chrysalis that was in the back corner of his makeshift labs in the basement. He did not want there to be any distractions, or witnesses to what he was trying to do before the plan was completed. There was also the great desire to be the first to talk to his father about the other things that he had been through as a Dementor.

Draco was not exactly pleased with the birth of his first child; it was only a three quarter blood after all. But he could not help naming the boy child after his father in a fashion, using his father's name on his heir apparent. Normally Draco would have thrown a great party for Halloween, and indeed if the child had been a full Pureblood he would have also, but he did not do that this year, not that too many would have come. Many of those who he would have invited were still trying to deal with the fact that they had small children to take care of, many of his old buddies that would be physically capable of attending (being alive and not locked up in Azkaban) had not managed to get themselves an adequate amount of help to put the children down and party for the evening.

Dinner was a subdued affair, as always, the only real noise was that of the cutlery clanking against the dishes. Draco eyed Hattie a bit suspiciously. He had not seen Hattie for more than the meals where he had required her to appear and the times when he felt it necessary to 'engage' his wife. He had also not seen his son more than a handful of times in the last five moths, though he had heard him wailing from somewhere down the hall in his wife's chambers. Not that he was very putout about the situation. He actually thought that this was a rather ideal situation in the long run. He got to slake his baser needs and he had none of the consequences that he would otherwise have to deal with. The only problem was the fact that his children were not of the blood purity that he wanted. His only and very small conciliation was the fact that his children were of the highest blood purity still allowed under the law.

As for the suspicion that Draco held Hattie in, Draco felt it was well founded due to the fact that she lived in the same house. Though if Draco knew what his wife did know he would have been alarmed at the depth of her knowledge of his undertakings. He had been more attentive, he would have been able to observe the devotedness to his wife that the house elves displayed. They seemed attuned to her every need and she would merely have to think it for more than a few moments and whatever she desired, if it was available, would be brought to her. He would have also caught the fact that she would indeed have conversations, real conversations with the house elves where they would exchange information and where she got most of her knowledge of the goings on in the house. But Draco, by virtue of both his upbringing and subsequent temperament, had not bothered to be attentive or caring toward his nonPureblood wife and did not catch the undertones of discontent within his own house.

The house elves, while highly loyal, were very antsy and worried about the horrid festering wound in the basement. Though they did not go down there, did not have to see it to know what it was doing, they could feel its power and were very much afraid. Though, as afraid as the house elves were, they were not going to abandon their posts, and at least one loving, caring and very needy Misteress and child Master. The Master of the house they severed out of obligation and fear once he had begun the Potion in the basement. They were loyal creatures, many times it appeared to be blindly so, but they were not and had their limits to what they would willingly do.

After dinner was finished Draco insisted that they both sit in the parlor, usually used to accommodate guests for a while, in some semblance of a 'family' time. After they had arrived and sat for a few minutes Draco demanded that his son be brought down to him so that he could look at the boy. After a few minutes of looking at the boy, as held by one of the house elves he waved them both away and then turned a rather predatory look on Hattie. She knew that look and did a great mental sigh of resignation. She lay back on the couch as instructed, hiked up her skirts and rode out her duty, as Draco felt the need to relieve himself. Once he had finished Draco pulled out, cleaned himself and put himself back where he belonged. Then without a backward glance he left Hattie to take care of herself, as always. Hattie prayed that she would conceive again soon so that she would not have to deal with the required amount of engagements, and find ways to avoid Draco when he felt it necessary to do whatever he felt. Perhaps after she had given birth to six children she could disappear and not be forced to live with Draco anymore, but that was a long way off and she could only hope at this time.

Draco in the mean time, after deciding that he was entitled some sort of release of the tension he felt when dealing with the fact his father should 'hatch' any day now, had made his way back down to the lab. He felt a bit more at physical ease after his release, though mentally he was still as wound up as ever. He knew that very soon he would find out if he had made even the slightest miscalculation in the Potion. He knew from his notes that the chrysalis that held his father would soon begin to break down, if his father did not break free from the cocoon soon. Then all would be lost. Draco had begun to spend a good portion of every evening in the basement, just sitting and watching the cocoon in the corner, as if he expected something to happen, which in all truthfulness, he did. Finally tonight, the night that the Wizarding world at large was celebrating its 'independence' from the muggle world and it's personal greatness, Draco's waiting and worries were answered.

As Draco sat and peered at the thing in the corner, as if he could have bored holes into it by will power alone, there came a sound in the otherwise deadly silent labs. How to describe such a sound was something beyond Draco, but it was most similar to perhaps a cross between the sound of someone's foot coming out of extremely thick, gooey mud, and the sound of liquid sloshing around in someone's stomach. Whatever the sound, it was clear that it was not something that would have normally occurred down there in the dark silent catacombs of the basement of the Malfoy home. Draco immediately looked around, much like a spooked prey animal looks in all directions before moving. Then once it seems he had managed to narrow down the possibilities for what had made the strange sound he looked intently back at the thing in the corner. Calling up more light from the candles set in the walls he was able to see clearly that the chrysalis in the corner was actually moving. He also noticed that the thing had changed color over the last nine months. At first he had thought that it was just the thing collecting dust, but now with a great amount of light shining on it he saw that it was not so. The chrysalis was originally a light pale white or off white color with tinges of a fleshy color. But now over the months it had begun to turn an ugly, unhealthy looking black color that looked like some sort of moldy rot, but it did not give off any odor, which Draco was glad for.

As Draco drew closer to the chrysalis the noises from within began to get more frequent in occurrence and noises that sounded like scraping could be heard from within. Quite suddenly there was a tearing sound like that of rotten cloth finally giving way, and the whole thing split like some malformed and disfigured flower of disease, spilling it's liquidous and gelatinous substance all over the floor. The wave of goop from the initial tearing and opening soaked Draco from about his mid torso down as he was nearly beside the chrysalis when it broke.

Edging still nearer, and almost captivated by the sight before him Draco looked at where the center of the chrysalis had been as a shape emerged. It was human in shape and moved to prop itself up on what was its arms, head and hair hanging down, covering and hiding the face of the being. Looking closer Draco saw that it was indeed his father. Draco could not speak for the emotions; both happiness and a wave of fear (which if you ask me came _WAY_ too late) managed to clog his throat so that he could not udder a sound. Raising and lifting his head Lucius looked around and through his long blond hair.

"Draco?" He asked, his voice sounding dry and cracked from long nonuse, though it had still not lost any of its demanding and fear inducing qualities from Draco's memory. "Where am I? What happened? Why am I naked?"

**A/N: well, that was creepy, scary and did we mention just **_**wrong**_**. Well Lucius is back on the scene. I can assure you that things are going to be getting even more interesting from here on out! For those of you who are still waiting for Draco to get his just desserts, well don't worry, just hang tight. It will be coming up very soon. He will not prevail in the end, of that I can assure you, and Hattie will not have to deal with him for too much longer either. **

**I cannot guarantee you when I will be posting the next chapter as I am still unsure which part of things I will be posting, or for that matter, writing. I have a general idea of what I want to be writing, I just have to find the time to write it. I will either have extra time to hang out at college and write, or I will have absolutely no time to write and I will dream of writing as I really have been doing for far longer than I would like to admit.**

**As always I have to give kudos to my wonderful Beta **Skydacinghobbit **who has helped me muddle through the next bit of the plot that has been a bit sketchy on the details. And she is one of the most awesome of prayer warriors who I know, thanks a lot girl! You may not think so yet, but just you wait, keep it up and you will be the one where things quake when your feet hit the floor. I know you don't believe it, but trust me; I am not the only one who knows that. **

**On your way out please leave a review, take a gander of the rest of my stories and if you have time go check out my beta's stores as well. I know that you will enjoy them if you check them out! Live, Laugh, Love ~ Dragons Quill**


	27. The Return of Lucius

**A/N: **_***pokes head out and looks around, waves little white flag **_**(I come in peace!)**_**. Slowly advances and grovels humbly at the feet oft all those who have been waiting FAR too long for me to finally finish this chapter***_** I am SOOOOooo sorry that it took me this long to finally get another chapter up. Things have been so hectic here that I have been unable to get any time where both me and my muse are on the same page and have the time to actually write. Anyways, enough of my blabber I offer you the next installment of Raising Phoenix for your reading pleasure. **

Chapter 27

The Return of Lucius

Lucius Malfoy stood in front of a full length mirror and smoothed the wrinkles from his emerald green robes and viewed his appearance with a critical eye. His blond hair was still long and practically shown it was so clean, though it had acquired streaks of white hair among the blond. Normally, according to his age, he would not have had any white hair mingled with his blond, but taking into account that he had just had spent the last few years as a Dementor, and that the body that had been added to the Potion was of an advanced age, it seemed that it was expected, or at least not surprising that he was beginning to go white.

It had been three months since the time that he had 'hatched' from the chrysalis in the basement. It had taken him a good three weeks to get used to the fact that there had been a considerable amount of time since he had last walked the earth, in human form anyways. He remembered a little from the time as a Dementor, shadows and fleeting thoughts of the whole ordeal. These fleeting visions were enough to give anyone pause and even give the most hard core of cold blooded killers a shiver down their spines, but not Lucius. This did little to faze him, thoughts and images were little more than an annoyance that would have done little to prick his conscious if he still possessed it at all. Soon after he had emerged and realized that he was not in the Dementor's Lab, where they put those who were to be Kissed, and that his very existence was indeed not known to the Ministry whatsoever, he was exceedingly eager to advance his revenge on Severus Snape.

It had become well known amount those in Azkaban, the Severus Snape had been the mole in Lord Voldemort's ranks. The dirty lying, cheating rat that had undermined the Pureblood authority and philosophy for his own gain and Lucius had learned that he now walked free and unpunished by the Ministry. He had also learned through Draco, that he had even managed to bag himself the prize that should have gone to Draco at the end of the war, the mudblood, Hermione Granger. He had always planed and dreamed of breaking her himself, or at least walking Draco through the process and watching him do it. He felt that it would have been the ultimate revenge against not only the girl that had tried so hard to upset the 'natural' balance of the magical world with her attempt at intelligence, but had provided so much help to Voldemort's worst enemy, Harry Potter.

Now that she was married to Severus he saw it only as an extra added bonus, though it did make some things more difficult. He could still do what he had planned with and to the girl, but now it would also spite and rend the heart of now his greatest enemy and once brother in arms, Severus Snape. Especially now that he had learned from Draco that Severus seemed to actually care for, and possibly even love, if that were really even possible, the Mudblood and the children that they had so far produced together. It seemed that they had produced two, twins, something unusual in the muggle world and exceedingly rare in the magical one.

Draco had caught him up also on what had been going on in the magical world since he had been 'away' and what new and different things the Ministry had enacted in that time. He had also managed to find a way to get a hold of a new wand for his father that was of reasonably the same strength and power as the one before. It had been a bit of a struggle to get a new one, involving glamours lies and some rather powerful memory charms. There had been quite a bit of fancy footwork involved so that the Ministry did not catch on to the fact that Lucuis was back in town and ready to 'party'.

Lucius had been confined to the house and grounds of his son's home. It was something that many would have loved to have, a pretty little cottage in the country, but when compared to the Malfoy Mansion it was a mere shack, albeit a pretty shack. He had been able to see no one in the time that he had been back other than those who were on the grounds of the house. This meant that he saw and was served by the two house elves that his son had acquired as well as had seen his son's mudblood wife and nasty halfblood son. At least he had been allowed the option of using his son's wife when he felt the need and she wasn't occupied by Draco. Despite the diversion that his son's wife created on occasion it was not that that he really craved anymore. He had engaged her twice, but he found that he preferred being in the same room when his son engaged her, enjoying the brutalness that Draco doled out. It was almost as if he was 'feeding' off of all the negative feelings that Hattie felt towards the whole ordeal and the twisted nature of his son in bed. Admittedly Draco thought it a bit strange, weird even, but he didn't really bother to question or worry about it. It made his father happy and kept everything in 'balance', or at least in his mind it did.

The lack of change of scenery though was a bit distressing, he was certainly getting bored of the whole ordeal and really wanted to get going on his revenge upon Severus, and then maybe even find a way for himself to enter back into society. He was getting very impatient. He wanted to be able to at least get off the grounds to exact his revenge that if nothing else. he had been planning and formulating ideas for how to make Severus suffer to the greatest extent over the last few weeks and was anxious to get the show on the road as it were and be done with it. He wanted to make it as miserable for him as soon as he could.

He had been confined to Azkaban for months before he had been sent to the Dementor pens after all, as well as learning of Severus' treachery at backstabbing the Dark Lord. He had some major axes to grind with Severus and wanted to make sure that each one was ground to its most painfully exquisite maximum. He was hoping for something to happen soon. The problem was that as it stood now Severus and his wife and children were too well protected by their position at Hogwarts. There was just no way that he could get onto the grounds and into contact with the family group without detection and capture before he got to his prize. What he needed was either a distraction or someplace that was far less secured in order to get what he wanted.

Exiting the rooms that he had been given he went down to meet Draco in the study of the shanty that his son called home now. Walking into the room the elder Malfoy looked at his son who had recently arrived home from work and was sitting in a chair before the fire nursing a small glass of wine; at least it was a bottle of some vintage and taste.

"Draco." Lucius told him. "There must be something that I can be doing other than staying here in the house all day. It is getting to be monotonous. There has to be some way that I can get off this tiny spit of land and torment… I mean interact with someone else. You can only kick the same house elf so many times before it loses it charm."

"I know father." Draco said. "I know how you feel, but there is nothing that I can do to help you. And I see no way to get to Severus or his family without early detection. I have known for a while now that I want to exact some sort of revenge upon them, but I was never able to figure out how I would do it. The what, that I would do is no trouble at all, it is the how and the where that is that hard part."

"Well what do you know of Severus's movements? What sort of reconnaissance have you done in order to exact you revenge?" Lucius asked, accepting the glass of wine offered to him by his son.

"I would like to say that I know his every move, but I do not." Draco confessed. "I have to work and so it is very difficult to track his movements while in a completely different place. Though I would venture to guess that his movements are much the same from when I was in school. Married life and children will have certainly not changed his general habits too much; he is still a teacher after all." Draco told him. "I am sure that there is some way that I can get the information that we seek. He has to some out of the castle some time."

"I am sure that there is a favor you can call in from someone." Lucius said to Draco. "I want information and I want it soon. I want to begin my revenge at once. And I want his whole family to suffer it." Lucius said darkly as he sipped his wine and looked into the fire from where he sat in the second arm chair.

**A/N: well… that is just beyond creepy and scary, Lucius is back in town and getting restless, this can't be good. Poor Hattie,, but for those worried that she will not make it through the fic, never fear, she will survive it, that I can assure you. As for Draco don't worry he will get what is coming to him, just be patient. **

**Next chapter we see what Hermione and Severus have been up too in the time since they have had their children and how they are a adjusting. I will also be covering the phoenix in the next chapter or too as well, they have been starting a family as well. **

**I don't know when I will be getting the next chapter up, but I hope to have it up before the end of this month or within the first week of next month. I must thank my wonderful beta Skydancinghobbit who makes sure that my content is solid so it can be posted. Thanks. **

**Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me and my slow writing ablibity lately. I am hoping things will pick up soon and provide you all with more chapters faster. Thanks to all those who have left me a review so far, kudos to you all! Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your January, I know where I live we are working on a whole double digits for a high (lowest temp it got here on my thermometer was -14) so for everyone who is warmer than things are here, NO FAIR! But that is besides the point. Hope you are all well after the holiday rush and if you have the time to go and check out some of my other fan fics or those of my beta please leave a review to let us know what you think of our work. Thanks! Live, Laugh, Love ~ Dragons Quill**


	28. Double Whammy

**A/N: Dodges flying rotten fruit and veggies thrown at head for making you all wait so long, raises trash can lid for protection and waves a little white flag. SORRY! Things and life and worry over things has gotten in the way of writing. I would have had this chapter written and betaed a week or two earlier but more important things got in the way. **

**My oldest friend and my beta were both in a car accident the last week of January and they and the aftermath took precedent over everything except my time with God. I can say with all certainty that being in the emergency room with both my friends there, one unconscious and sedated and the other pretending she isn't going to crawl up the walls in fear and shock while stuck in a neck brace until the ok to take it off was sent in, was not fun. Friday night with the girls should never, ever include the emergency room! Both of them are ok now, my friend who was driving is now back home with a cracked pelvis that is healing well and is past her concussion. My beta Skydancinghobbit is also back home and near the tail end of dealing with her concussion. Considering that they got T boned in the drivers side I am blessed to have both my friends still with me. Only by the grace of God were they saved and kept from greater harm, looking at the car my friend who was driving really should be dead and Sky should have been in traction for a long time if not permanently. Please keep them in your prayers for a swift and complete recovery for the injuries that they did receive, I know that they both appreciate and thank you all for doing so. God is awesome! I can't express it any more/better than that, I don't have the words. **

**For those of you who noticed that Skydancinghobbit took down her fics about three weeks ago she would like me to tell you all that she is currently retired from writting fanfiction for an indefinite period of time. Though she continues to be my beta on this and my other stories, thanks Sky!**

**Now that I have writing a second chapter of authors notes, I will actually let you get on to reading the much awaited for chapter. I hope you enjoy it and I hope that I can manage to get the next one up soon. I am slowly chugging away at writing it. Enjoy!**

Chapter 28

_Double Whammy _

To say that the whole parenting process was something completely and totally new to Severus was perhaps the biggest understatement that anyone could have come up with in quite a while, a time period being very unspecific seeing as he was not quite sure when it was anymore. His whole sleep schedule was so out of whack it wasn't funny and he was so tired most of the time that he and Hermione would simply fall asleep where they were when they would sit down, when they could sit down. When he did have a moment of peace with Hermione sitting next to him it wasn't so bad, but with twins it was as if they were being double teamed. He would have assumed that the babies should have done most things at relatively the same time, but _NO._ They _had_ to be difficult. As soon as one could be settled down for a nap the other would cry and wake the other so that all the work of putting one down was wasted. And as soon as you thought you had finally changed the last diaper for the next hour or two there was another squawk and stink from one of them.

"Why did I ever agree to this?" Severus grunted one afternoon as he cradled one of the twins in one arm and Hermione had her head in his lap the other twin on her chest asleep, his hand lying protectively over the baby's back.

"Because you love me?" Hermione asked in a tired grunt.

"True, but I didn't sign up for twins." He groaned. "One would have been much easier."

"When have either of us done anything the easy way?" Hermione chuckled through a yawn. Severus grunted his reply. "We really should get the house elves or one of the others to take them for a night so we can get some sleep." She said after a few minutes of unsuccessfully dozing. "Besides we have to begin to deal with the stupid Ministry law again soon." It had been nearly the allotted three months since the twins had been born that Severus and Hermione had been unable to engage each other. It was not that they had not wanted to do what they were required, far from it. It was just that when they did get a chance to have peace and quiet and 'personal' time they spent it in the most productive manner possible, sleeping curled in each other's arms.

Hermione still was breastfeeding but she had also been pumping so that they would be on a bottle as well. This meant that Severus could give her a bit of a break when it was the middle of the night and one of the children got hungry. He also felt that it was a great bonding with the babies. He had managed to get over the fear of dropping or hurting the twins before the third day was out. He was able to hold them with confidence and though he was inexperienced, he was able to learn quickly and seemed to immensely enjoy the fact that he was a father.

"As much as I don't trust anyone one else with our children you have no idea how grateful I am to hear you suggest it. A good night's sleep will do us both wonders. I wonder if the Phoenix will help us out." He said tiredly.

"I am sure that they will." Hermione said. "Perhaps we could let Molly and Arthur take them for a night." She suggested. "They had twins themselves once upon a time. They can take care of them alright without worry. I am sure that these guys are nothing like Fred and George were when they were growing up."

"Please refrain from saying their names in conjunction with our children. I do not want them to get any ideas. That is the last thing we or Hogwarts needs." Severus groaned. Hermione couldn't help but chuckle.

"So what do you think about Flooing Molly to see if they can take them, tonight maybe?" She asked after a moment or two of silence. Severus gave a reluctant groan in response. "What is your problem with that idea?" She asked tilting her head up to look at him.

"You do realize that you would be sending my children to an entirely Gryffindor household." He told her exasperatedly. Hermione merely gave a nod. "You don't see a problem with that?" He asked her.

"No." She could do little but give him a smile.

"Of course _you_ wouldn't." He smirked, "your one of _them._"

Hermione rolled her eyes with a smile. "Well do you have any other suggestions?"

"How about the house elves?" He asked, looking hopeful but also knowing before he said it his heart was only half in it. After a moment of silence where Hermione merely smirked back up at him did he sigh and let his face fall. "Fine." He half grumbled, "I am sure that they will need some 'socializing' anyways. They can't learn to be proper Slytherins if they are locked up here in the dungeons all the time." He conceded half heartedly. Hermione chuckled at his declarations. "But don't you think that it is a bit late to be springing this on Molly for tonight? It is already almost dinner time." He told her.

"I will contact Molly after dinner." Hermione said thoughtfully after a moment. We can see if she can arrange something for tomorrow then." She said. "As much as I love the babies, I could really do with a good night's sleep that is uninterrupted." She looked down at the little bundle asleep on her chest, covered protectively by Severus hand.

"They look so innocent don't they?" Hermione said with a sigh as she looked at the baby asleep on her chest. "They look so peaceful."

"Only when they are asleep." Smirked Severus. "When they wake up they certainly aren't, loud and demanding is more an accurate description." Hermione smirked and chuckled her agreement. "Very much like a Gryffindor that I know."

"You love it and you know it." She smirked up at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said with a slight sniff and trying to look innocent, which was indeed impossible for the Potion's Master to do with any great accuracy.

"Of course not, that is why you married me, a Gryffindor."

"Well I certainly couldn't let anyone else be burdened by your demanding qualities. I had to do it for the good of the Wizarding World."

"Of course." She smiled. "I love you too."

"Good, because I will never stop loving you my Gryffindor, my wife, my Hermione." Severus said leaning down and laying a soft kiss on her forehead, the only part he could reach without falling over or disturbing one of the babies. Leaning back he smiled and both he and Hermione dozed off before the evening meal and the eventual squawks and squeals that the twins made when demanding a meal and a change.

It was later than they had expected or wanted when Hermione Flooed the Weasley matron with a request to take the babies off their hands for the next night.

"Molly?" She called sticking her head through the fireplace. She was greeted by Arthur who was sitting in and armchair in front of the fireplace with a small child on his lap. The little black haired girl pointed and clapped with a squeal of laughter at Hermione as Arthur held her. "Oh hello Arthur. How are you? Who's little one is that?" She asked with a smile.

"This would be little Lilly Potter." Arthur said with a smile bouncing the little girl on his knee as she laughed and squealed. "I am quite well Hermione. We haven't seen you in quite a while. I hope everything is going well with you, Severus and the twins. How are you and what causes you to Floo tonight?"

"Well we were hoping to ask a favor of you and Molly." Hermione said. "We were wondering…" Hermione began but was cut off by Molly bustling in to the room.

"Is that Hermione that I hear?!" She said excitedly coming into the living room with a great bustle. "Oh Hermione dear!" She called. "It is so nice to hear from you. We haven't heard from you in nearly two months, we were wondering how you are. I have heard from the boys that you are doing well, but it is so nice to hear about it from your own lips. I can't very well scold you for not calling like I do the boys, but oh dear you really have always been like another daughter to us."

Hermione just smiled and enjoyed the Weasley matron's cooing and clucking. She knew she was just looking out for her, and it was nice to have someone who acted the mother figure in her life, now that her own family had been dead nearly five years. "I am well." Hermione said. "And Severus sends his regards as well. We just have been so busy with the twins we really have not had much time to talk to anyone, only because Lavender and Ginny came and saw us a couple times have we seen much other than the house elves and Minerva who makes sure we are still alive.

That is why we are calling you. We were wondering if you could take care of the twins sometime this week. Severus and I both need some sleep and we are drawing close to the time where the stupid Ministry Law will be forced upon us again if we don't do something about it soon."

"Say no more." Arthur said holding his hand up and scrunching his face. "I try to keep my mind away from the stupid Ministry Law and what it requires. I would rather just enjoy my grand children rather than having to think about what my children are actually doing to produce them. It is just not something a father wants to think about with his little girls." Hermione could not help but chuckle at his obvious discomfort on the subject in general.

"Oh Arthur, must you be so dramatic?" Molly scolded and then turned her attention back to Hermione. "Yes we can do more than just take the twins for the night." She told her. "We have been having the kids over for Friday night dinner for a while now. Arthur and I have been keeping a couple of the grandkids at least once a week so that each of the kids can have a night to themselves. We would love to have the twins for a night or two so that you can both get some sleep and get reacquainted with each other. I know that it can be hard especially with twins. We would love for you and Severus to come over for dinner tomorrow and then leave the twins overnight. We can keep them until late Saturday or early Sunday for you. I must tell you that it is very nice to have the house full of life and children again. It was so empty for that year after the war. It is nice to have the house full again, even if they aren't my own children."

"Speak for yourself." Arthur grunted with a half smile as he amused little Lily on his lap. "I know I was certainly hoping that I would one day have my house back to myself again."

"You like the grandkids and we both know it." Molly scolded him again. He gave a noncommittal shrug of the shoulders and couldn't keep the small grin off his face as Lilly tried to pull a button off his shirt and he carefully removed her hand and distracted her by creating bubbles from the end of his wand so that she could try to catch them, her small face a light with wonderment and innocence.

"I know I will gladly accept the offer of dinner and then Friday night and at least part of Saturday to ourselves. I am quite sure that Severus will see no problem with it at all, besides if he does I will find a way to persuade him. We have been locked up in the dungeons for far too long. We need to get out farther than the lake for a little bit." Hermione told Molly with a smile.

"Excellent." She crooned. "We will have a lovely meal and get to catch up on things while we are at it. It will be a lovely time! I will see you both tomorrow then. We are serving dinner at six, if you want to come by somewhere around five or five thirty that would be wonderful. Then you can see where we will be keeping the children over the weekend and you can socialize with the others. It will be so nice to have a bunch of you all together again. Bye."

Hermione pulled her head back from the Floo and back to Hogwarts with a smile on her face. Getting off the hearth rug she returned to Severus who was sitting on the couch alone, the twins having been put down for the first time that night. It was likely that they would wake again in a couple hours with stinky diapers and empty tummies. Snuggling against him she leaned against his chest. They had widened the couch again so that it was comfortable for Severus to lean against one of the arms and Hermione to settle herself between his legs and lean against his chest.

"I would assume from the smile that you have good news for me." Severus said with a tired smile, stroking her honey hair as it fell against the white of his shirt. He had relaxed his dress code now down to what it had been the summer before, though whenever they left their chambers only the long billowing teaching robes stayed packed away.

"You would be correct." She said gazing up at him from where she was nestled. "We have been invited by Molly to visit tomorrow evening for dinner and then to leave the twins there for the night and part of Saturday. We can pick them up sometime in the evening. I have already told Molly we would be there and I guess there will be a couple others there as well. She mentioned 'the boys', so I am not sure how many she will have for dinner, but it will be nice to see people again."

"Are you suggesting that I am not people?" Severus asked with a huff.

"No, I am not saying that." She told him. "I am merely suggesting that we have been cooped up here in our chambers all summer and we have barely said a word to anyone other than each other and that has been really only about the twins and little else. We certainly need to make some sort of an effort to learn to communicate with people again. Besides in less than a month we will have to be communicating with all our other colleges as well as keeping track of other people's children. I think that it would be good if we were able to at least ease into the whole 'talking' and 'interacting' thing before school starts again. We certainly wouldn't want you to be socially awkward when you give the first years your famous 'foolish wand waving' speech." She smirked.

"Humph." He grunted. "I am sure that you know nothing about being socially awkward in relation to my speech. It will be delivered with the same menace, threatening undertone and general lack of trust and hope in this years' children's potion making abilities as it is every year." He assured her. "Though I must admit it might be nice to think of something more than diapers for a change. Though you sound as though you have grown tired of me." He said just a bit too off handedly.

"Certainly not!" Hermione said sitting up and turning so that she knelt between his knees. "I have not and will not grow tired of you Severus." She said leaning in to place a loving kiss upon his lips. "Don't ever think that." She told him softly. Kissing him again and deepening it so there was no question about what she thought of him. He reached up and drew her closer to himself so that she was nearly flush with him. She abandoned his mouth to pepper kisses along his jaw and up towards his ear. "I will never tire of you my sexy Slytherin, you are my husband and you are my soul mate Severus. You are all I shall ever require."

"Good." He growled from her collarbone. "I need nothing more than you my gorgeous wife and soul mate Hermione, you are my reason to continue." He continued to kiss up her throat as she offered more out to him. "You are mine and I desire none other than you." He growled pulling her closer as she offered up more of her throat. "Feel my desire for you my lovely Hermione." She could do little but groan her agreement as she felt other parts of him making their declarations known. Encouraged by Hermione trying to get even closer Severus let his hands wander farther than he had let them before and they shared another heated kiss. "I have missed this." He panted when they finally parted from kissing and their foreheads rested together as they both tried to catch their breath.

"So have I." Hermione agreed. They had been unable to be really intimate at all in nearly five months, since before about the last month of school. First there was the fact that Hermione was so exhausted most of the time and they were both so busy with the work that was required for the end of the year parties, graduation and then the ball commemorating the defeat of Voldemort. They had been able to sleep next to each other in that time and snuggled close at night, but that was it. Both were more than ready to have each other back again passionately in their lives.

Severus again began to work his way along her jaw line and down her throat as she let her hands stray towards his collar. The first button had never been done that morning and she was beginning to make progress beyond his third button when suddenly there was a cry from the other room, it would seem that one of the twins was awake again and demanding that attention be paid to him. Hermione put her forehead on Severus' shoulder and groaned. "And we were so close too."

Severus gave a groan in reply and as the wail grew louder he responded. "We had better go see what they want before they wake the whole castle." He though did not readily make to let go of Hermione as she still was held tight to his chest, though at the wail his other interest had wilted, he felt it was still nice to have her so close to him for a change. Finally with a sigh Hermione made to pull away. "And I can assure you Madame." He said with a smirk as he laid a light kiss upon her lips as she got up. "We were nowhere near close. There is much that I desire to accomplish before we are through." He could not hide the sparkle of anticipation and promise in his eyes; though the sparkle was nearly drown out by the dark fire there as well.

"I will hold you to that Mr. Snape." She smiled invitingly as she went to the hallway that would lead past the children's room. "Just don't underestimate me."

As she disappeared he chuckled ever so lightly as he reached up and rebuttoned his shirt and settled down on the couch, deciding a little distance from his wife would be good if they were going to survive the night. He would make sure that he would tell the Phoenix about their plans later on.

**A/N: well, it would seem that things are finally heating up again. Hum, wonder what could happen in the next chapter….?**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter, hope to have the next chapter up soon. Please feed the hungry author reviews, they are such a wonderful delicacy. ******** Live, Laugh, Love ~ Dragons Quill **


	29. Demure Dinning Arrangements

**A/N: Hello all, I am sorry that it has been sooo long since I have updated, but my life has been super busy! I also have more author's notes that will explain more things in later chapters which I will be positing in a short time. Sorry for the long wait. **

Chapter 29

_Demure Dinning Arrangements _

For Severus, the fact that he was going to a gathering of unknown size but generally to believed a large gathering. At said gathering the likelihood that the other two thirds of the 'Dream team' would be present, as well as their children was also quite high. There was also the fact that he would be the only Slytherin in the group and he would be leaving his children in a completely Gryffindor household for at least a day and night. If truth be told he figured that Hermione would have been a better Ravenclaw Head of House because he felt she was cleverer. But perhaps Ginny surviving as the only girl in a house full of boys proved she was cleverer than he had given her credit for. But the fact still remained that every single one of the people, save himself had been a Gryffindor and he could not help but feel that his children were going to be polluted at an early age with tendencies towards his rival house.

For Hermione the trepidation was that she was going to be leaving her children for the night. It was the first time that she had been without them since she had given birth. In fact she felt that she could relate to and had been with them even before that, when she had begun to feel the first fluttering of movement from the twins while they were still in her womb. She was not quite sure how she was going to make it through the night knowing that they would not be in the next room over. At least she knew that they would be in good hands. If anyone in the muggle or wizarding world could handle their twins it would be the Weasleys. After having six children of their own, and a set of twins at that, Hermione was sure that anything that the twins could manage would be old hat or at least not something drastic or new to them. This thought was substantiated even more when taking into account that the Weasley twins were who they were, double trouble, on the double! Her and Severus' children couldn't be that bad… yet… right?

Once both Hermione and Severus had gotten ready themselves they got the twins ready and packed them an overnight bag. This really turned into a larger fiasco than was really required as there was the thought about what they were really going to need. Hermione had approached this much like she would have a research project, perhaps a bit overzealously. She had nearly packed the entire contents of the closet of clothes for both the children as well as a mountain of diapers. Hermione was quite grateful that in the year prior to her actually giving birth the whole idea of disposable diapers had caught on from the muggle world. It seemed that with so many babies and nearly all of them having at least some sort of muggle parentage, the idea of disposable diapers had been introduced and had quickly caught on in nearly any and all circles.

"What exactly are you doing?" Severus asked as he leaned himself against the doorjamb of the nursery, an eyebrow raised at the appearance of an explosion in the room. The twins were lying in a playpen of sorts where they were both mesmerized by what appeared to be a firefly, but it was something that Hermione had conjured to keep them occupied.

"Packing." Hermione said distractedly as she held up one outfit and then a second trying to make a decision between the two. She then decided she could not decide and put them both in the bag.

"Well that much is clear," Severus said. "But for what? They are not moving out, merely staying one night and part of a day. There really is no need to pack so much." Severus was a firm believer in less is more, at least in the packing arena. He had learned in his time as a spy that packing light was the best and fastest way to accomplish anything. Packing light certainly made sure that you got everything you packed back when you returned because if something was missing it was obvious. The mountain of clothing and stuff that she wanted to pack completely boggled his mind.

"But what will happen if someone comes over to the house and they need to be dressed up, or what about if they want to take the children out, or …" Hermione asked in a nearly panicked tone that was cut off as Severus crossed over to her and placed his fingertips across her lips, stilling them.

"Hermione." He said kindly, "there is no need to worry about that much, they are only a few months old and I am sure that Molly can handle it all. You need only pack two or three things for them to wear and perhaps three packages of diapers each is a bit excessive." He pointed out.

"But…" Hermione mumbled looking unsure of herself and the whole situation.

"It will be fine, perhaps only one package of diapers and we can leave the remaining bit there so there is extra for next time." He suggested soothingly as he reached around and stroked her back comfortingly drawing her close. "I am sure that Molly will have no trouble with them."

"I know," she said a bit dejectedly from his chest, cuddling close to him and hugging him closer. "I guess that I am getting a bit carried away aren't I? I just don't want to have to worry that they won't have everything they need while they are at Molly's."

"They will not be gone very long and she will take good care of them for the night. I am also quite sure that we can find some way to fill our time without worrying about the welfare of our children." Severus purred down to her and leaned down to catch her in a passionate kiss that held all sorts of promise for later that evening. "They will be in good hands, completely Gryffindor hands, but good hands all the same."

"You like Gryffindor though." She grinned up at him. "And was that a complement paid to the Weasleys? What is this world coming to?"

"I like only one Gryffindor, even though she is the rival of mine. She snuck in and stole my heart before I knew what had happened. I never would have guessed that a Gryffindor could have such Slytherin qualities. Though I must say that I have done a very good job a polluting her Gryffindor ways with my Slytherin ones." He told her as he leaned and cupped her hips with his own, letting her feel his desire for her and her alone. He ran one hand down from her cheek, past her throat to lay against the rise of her breasts while the other arm pulled her tighter to him. Hermione's eyes fluttered shut and a soft moan escaped her lips as he did so. It wasn't that they hadn't cuddled in the time since the twins were born; it was that it had been more of a comforting type of touch that assured each other that they were both still there before they fell off to sleep. This was definitely something more deep and passionate that could only end with one thing. This was something that they had both deeply missed and the beginning rekindling of it was something they both relished. It was going to be a long night no doubt.

There was a gurgle and a questioning sort of moan/groan from the corner where the play pen was set up. Both Hermione and Severus turned their heads to look at both of the twins looking at them, the firefly forgotten, still buzzing around overhead, just out of reach. "I guess we got a bit carried away." Hermione sort of laughed going quite red in the face, but not making any move to let go of Severus instead nuzzling her face into his neck.

"That is a possibility." He managed to agree rather gruffly as he attempted to get himself under control, his pale cheeks also sporting some color, though he also made no move to let go of her. "Perhaps we should finish packing." He said half heartedly after a moment.

"It can wait a moment." Hermione said with a grin and reached up to kiss him again.

"In front of the children?" He managed to ask once they had parted.

"It would appear that you were willing to do more than that, not just a moment before." She grinned mischievously even though her cheeks burned red. Severus had the good grace to look just a bit sheepish and the color on his cheeks seemed to spread and touch his ears as well. "Well, kissing in front of them won't hurt them." She said. "Besides we have locking and silencing spells for other things. Anyways, it is good for them to know that we love each other and them as well. Without at least some sort of role model they will be left not knowing what to do or how things happen when they are in a relationship.

I know my parents showed each other affection and I am no worse for the ware. I am or I should say was rather well aware that my parents had good relationship and I am quite sure that they were quite intimate until the time they were killed. I must say it is a bit disturbing to even think about my parents actually… well… yeah…, _ever_ for that fact, but in some ways it is certainly good to know that there is sex after children and it just doesn't stop and that it is and can be a part of a good, strong, healthy relationship."

"I guess I will have to take your word for it, I know I certainly not speak from any experience." Severus said a bit sadly, he gently stroked her hair back from her face. "I know only that I don't can't stand the idea of leaving the type of memories and legacy that I was left with from my childhood. I may not know how your parents interacted and treated each other, but I know that I never want to act like or emulate my father in any way. That would be something unforgivable. I want to play a better role in my children's lives than was played in mine." Hermione could feel as he gave a slight shudder at the mention of his father. She drew him as close to herself as possible and nuzzled his neck affectionately again.

"You are not your father." She whispered. "You have already surpassed him and you are turning out to be a wonderful father so far and you are a loving and attentive husband. Fear not that you are otherwise Severus. I love you; I love you for who you are and what you have done for me. Don't ever forget that and don't ever tell yourself anything otherwise."

"With you here with me Hermione, I can believe anything, and now as we have embarked upon this journey called parenthood together and I can see the proof of our connection I believe that no matter what happens I shall never forget your love and your comfort. I love you too Hermione, you and now our children as well have become my everything, know that I would give anything and everything to know and to keep you safe." He leaned down and kissed her again. "You have rescued me from a dismal existence and have brought me into the light. Love seems like such a cheap and tacky word to use to describe how deeply I feel, but it would appear that the English language has come up short and has restricted my speech." He looked down at her with shinning eyes.

"Who are you and what have you done with my husband?" Hermione asked the warmth and softness in her eyes and touch as she cupped his check belaying her words. "I would never have imagined such declarations being spoken aloud by you ever, especially in the presence of any other soul than myself.

Though I have known what you have said since the first time we made love. You have always managed to make me feel loved and wanted even if it is something you were not able to express any other way. I am glad you have found a way to express such a sentiment verbally as well. To hear it is something special and dear to me. I know there was a time I feared that you would never say such a thing to me in any form."

"Well, love can do strange things to a person?" He tried, though the effort was lost in the dark fire burning in his eyes.

"Ah." Hermione smiled. "Well love and other things besides that. Is it perhaps encouraged by other possible avenues of expression?" She grinned, shifting her hips against his.

"There is a strong probability that it might help things along." He managed to groan. "But that doesn't mean that I don't mean these things."

"I know, but is nice to hear them every now and again especially in a spontaneous manner." She admitted.

"And you claim that it is my ego that requests stroking." He tisked lightly. "It would seem that you know how to spin quite the thread, but in the end it unravels and the truth is known. It is not my ego that needs the stroking as much as yours." He smiled down at her as she 'humphed' and struggled not to smile. "Now you must finish packing so we can go to dinner tonight. I am most eager to go and return so that we can finally explore avenues of expression previously required but seemingly restricted as of late. I am quite interested in re-exploring them in great detail once again." He chuckled as she looked up at him with a mix of distress that they would be required to sit demurely at dinner and anxiousness for the whole evening to go quickly. Hermione rolled her eyes in a playful manner and detached herself from him so that she could finish unpacking and repacking the things for the twin's overnight stay at the Weasley's.

Once the idea that the twins did in fact not need to have a whole entire room full of stuff to go with them, the whole process of getting ready to leave, seemed to speed up. While Hermione was packing Severus changed the twins again and managed to find the pair of slings that Hermione had bought so that they each could carry a twin by their chest and appropriate with them in a sort of side along manner. There had been the initial slight squabble over the whole color scheme of the slings though it had been soon ironed out. Severus could not bring himself to wear a sling that was blatantly a Gryffindor red while he was the Head of Slytherin. He felt that it was just definitely the wrong message to be sending to everyone. He may have loosened up a great deal but he was not ready to be mistaken for some sort of Gryffindor by strangers with a sling like that. Hermione really didn't care much either way, but she definitely did not want to have both slings to be Slytherin green. She loved her Slytherin and all but she didn't want to help encourage her children to be in one house or the other just by the colors that she dressed them in. so finally a compromise was struck and a black sling was chosen for the color that they would use. Not only was black a good compromise color that Severus liked, but it also was very practical and hid stains very well so that they did not look dirty all the time when one of the twins decided that they wanted to check out their lunch again.

Once everything was packed in a bag Severus reduced it to a smaller size and put it away in his pocket and put on one of the slings over his shoulder. The twins had been fed about an hour before so they would not be hungry for a while; hopefully they would sleep through dinner. Severus picked up Serenity from the play pen and settled her into the cloth sling so that she was cuddled in a nest of material and safe against his chest. Hermione picked up Sebastian and settled him in the same manner into her sling as well. The evening was warm so they decided against wearing cloaks and strode out of their chambers hand in hand. Severus waved his wand rather lazily at the wards feeling them spring up behind them as they walked down the dungeon corridor. Hermione had showed him how to match and perhaps even exceed his former wards and he found that they were easy to activate and maintain while making it nearly impossible to break in.

They had informed the Phoenix that they would be leaving to spend time at the Weasley's and that they would be leaving the twins there for the evening and part of the next day. The Phoenix who were still sitting on their nest had agreed that it would be fine as they would not be gone long and since the Weasley's Floo was hooked up it would be easy for them to come to their aid if the need arose. When questioned about the fact they were still sitting on their nest the Phoenix had merely told them it was near the end and that they would be notified of the hatching when it was to occur so that they could be present if they desired.

Once they had walked down to the front gates and closed the gates behind them, both Hermione and Severus nodded to each other and appriated away with thunderous cracks, each holding their baby close. They all reappeared a moment later standing just outside the gate to the Weasley residence unharmed and in one piece. The crack of thunder that accompanied the approapriation or perhaps the sensation of being pulled through a pinhole in a piece of flexible rubber, woke the twins and resulted in a pair of wailing little ones, sounding rather frightened. Both parents responded by holding their baby closer and stroking their backs, cuddling and cooing to them until they calmed down. Only then did they look to the other to make sure that they had also arrived in one piece.

"It would seem that they have some things to get used to." Severus commented as he looked down at Sebastian in Hermione's sling who looked back up at him with an expression of misunderstanding on his little face though he was quieting as Hermione gently stroked his back through the sling, Serenity already having quieted.

"It would appear so." Hermione agreed with a quiet smile as she looked at her son, daughter and husband. She felt such comfort and peace just being able to see them all together and know that things were going to be alright. She then leaned up to give him a quick peck on the lips. "We should be getting in, it is nearly time for dinner and I am famished!"

"So am I." Severus purred to her reaching out and stroking her jaw before capturing her in a passion filled kiss. Hermione was left breathless by the kiss and the dark fire in his eyes when she drew back. It was obvious that Severus was not talking strictly about his need for nutritional sustenance. Hermione could not hold his gaze for too long and glanced down at Sebastian, who was drifting off to sleep, with scarlet running from her cheeks to the back of her neck.

"I am sure we can manage some way to fix that." She nearly squeaked and then was forced to clear her throat, her voice sounding oddly husky and high pitched all at once. She could not help the broad smile that accompanied the blush she was sporting as she glanced back up at Severus through her lashes. It seemed that only Severus could turn something so benign and simple into innuendo and foreplay almost. It was quite obviously that they were going to have quite a long enjoyable night getting reacquainted with the passion in each other. It would seem that Severus would have like to start early. She could do little but beam up at Severus as she tilted head up in challenge. "But first I believe my hunger should be stated before we can attend to the hunger you speak of, for I must agree I am quite famished in that respect as well, I just hope you can keep up with me. Come along now Severus, the faster one hunger is satisfied the sooner we can begin to fulfill the second." She then drew away from him and let herself through the gate to begin walking towards the front door.

Severus let out a low growl of mixed origins and followed his wife, shutting the gate behind him and coming up close to her from behind. "You will be eating your words later wife." She just smirked and let a shiver of anticipation run down her spine.

They had gotten barely half way across the lawn before the door to the Weasley home was thrown open and there were people issued forth from it. First to come out was Ron of all people with a smile on his face. "Hello Hermione." He said with a smile to Hermione as she came up to stand before him. "Severus." He said with a slightly strained voice as if he found it hard to say his name.

"Ronald." Severus said rather curtly, any of the stronger energies and the playful air that had been floating around the couple was replaced by something a bit stiffer. Severus still didn't really like Hermione's choice in friends, but had come to an agreement with Potter, though it seemed that Ron was a bit more hard headed and did not take the whole fact that Severus and Hermione were married with much grace.

"How have you been Ron? How is Lavender and the baby?" Hermione asked with a smile. She was glad to see him again, it had been since the end of the year that they had seen each other and Ron had not been present at the naming ceremony.

"Lavender is doing well and Ron Jr. is doing fine, he managed to stand while holding onto a table leg last week and he has made some promising gurgles towards words." Ron told her looking quite proud of his progeny.

"That is great Ron," Hermione smiled. "This is Sebastian Snape, who is just a few minutes older than his sister Selena Snape." She angled her body so that Ron could easily see into her sling and motioned to Severus in turn as he stood beside her. "They have managed to go through a mountain of stinky diapers so far and that is about it. They will certainly be a handful to deal with when they get too little Ron's stage and become mobile. We will certainly have our hands full, that is for sure."

"Hermione!" Ginny called as she came out of the house a bit slower as she seemed to have a small childlike extension to the bottom of one leg. It would appear that little Lilly Potter had managed to adhere herself to her mother's leg and refused to let go. So as a result Ginny's trek across the yard took far longer than it should have. "I am so glad that you came. We were all beginning to wonder if you had all expired down there in the dark dungeons." She smiled as she came and gave Hermione a side hug so she would not crush Sebastian.

"Never fear we are just fine and generally no worse for the ware, though I must admit we have encountered a couple diapers that could have been used for some type of muggle war device and nearly killed us all. But we all survived, I just hope that Hogwarts' ventilation system does not recycle air through most of the castle. I am sure that there would be an interesting odors throughout if they do."

"I know, with so many little ones in the chambers I don't know how this is all going to work!" Ginny said with a bit more seriousness. "But anyways come on inside, the food is nearly on the table and I am sure that the others would love to see you."

"How many more of you all are there tonight?" Severus asked from beside Hermione, trying to sound interested for some other reason than the number of Griffindors to keep off his kids.

"Just Harry, Ron, Lavender, the children and my parents." Ginny said. "Everyone else is either on vacation until school starts again, or they are off with their other families. It is usually just the six of us that come here every week, but I hope you both won't be strangers. It really is nice to see you both again after having nearly no contact at all over the summer." Ginny beamed at them both, Severus bore it with relatively good grace, managing to merely look indifferent and not scowling. "Come on!"

Hermione let herself be lead to the front door and ushered inside with Severus right behind her. Looking around it was nice to see that nearly nothing had changed. It was like a second home coming for her. As she entered the kitchen she was assaulted by the sights and smells of a lovely dinner being cooked. Hermione was very surprised to see a house elf working alongside Mrs. Weasley.

"How are you?" She asked Mrs. Weasley as she managed to find herself a seat that appeared would be out of the way.

"Oh I am doing fine dearie." She beamed and came at Hermione to give her a hug, leaning way around the baby slung across her chest. "But how are you and how is little…, oh dear which one is this?"

"This is Sebastian." Hermione said with a smile, the small child looked sleepily up at Molly as she cooed over him.

"Well he is definitely adorable, and he had gained quite a bit of weight since I saw him last. He is probably twice as big as when he was born."

"Probably." Hermione said. "We have been so busy with them though that we have not really had time to keep track of those things. We are more concerned about the facts like when their next feeding and change will be to think about much else." Hermione told her.

"Yes, yes," Molly nodded. "I remember those days when I had the twins. They were interesting for sure. They were showing signs of magic the earliest of any of the children, floating the most used bins of ointment and such around and then flushing them down the toilet, many of which would not should not have fit down the toilet, though some did manage,… sort of. Let's just say I got a crash course in how plumbing worked and how to fix it." She said with a look somewhere between a grimace and smile at the memory. "Anyways, I am sure that they will be just fine, just like a regular two year old when the time comes."

"Thanks." Hermione smiled, she did have to admit the 'terrible twos' as they were called did give her a bit of pause. She didn't know what she was going to do with two of them at once. "Is there something that I can do?" She asked out of habit as she looked around the kitchen.

"No dear." Molly smiled. "It would seem that Harry has given me Kendle over there. He is such a good helper and he really has gotten to the point where he does most of the preparations for the bigger meals. I just have to cook once or twice a week now, and that is because I chase him out of the kitchen for the evening. It really is nice to have a house elf around here. I wish I had had one when the kids were all here, it would have made life much easier. But then again, we could never afford one before. Only because Harry insisted do we have Kendle now, I really am quite grateful. Having help allows me to spend more time with the grandkids when they are over."

"Well that is nice." Hermione smiled. Despite the fact she didn't like the idea of house elves in servitude, she had come to learn that it was something that seemed to be part of their makeup and to have a family to serve was their greatest happiness. She had found out how very helpful they were when she had spent the first summer at the Manor and now was glad that they were around now that she had the twins.

Within a few minutes there was a great hustle and bustle and all of the other occupants of the house came into the kitchen looking for food. Severus instated himself and his sling full of baby next to her, favoring the side that appeared to be the 'male' end of the table. Most of the time it appeared that the table was split nearly in half with each end being a different gender. This tended to allow each end to talk amongst themselves without interfering with the others conversations unless asked to. This kept the noise at dinner down and let the girls talk 'lady' things while the men talked about 'man' things. The various children of the couples were inter-dispersed among the adult's laps and were feed little bits of things off of the adult's plates.

Hermione could not help but smile at all those gathered around the table. Little Ron was sitting on Lavender's lap being fed spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, most of which stayed in, though there was the occasional flying bit of food that would originate from him. Little Lilly had made herself at home on her father's lap and Harry had really just given up trying to eat his green beans since they never seemed to make the trip from his plate to his mouth. It would seem he would bring the fork too close to Lilly and she would pick them off and eat them quite happily while her father was left without. Hermione was glad that Sebastian slept contentedly throughout the meal or surveyed his surroundings silently when he was awake. She saw that somewhere near the end that Serenity began to fuss a bit but Severus gently rearranged her in the sling and stroked her back through the sling to quite her. All the while he barely missed a beat in the conversation he was having with the guys about the strength of the current Hogwarts Quiddutch Teams and the outlook for the next year's prospects for the team. It was proving to be quite an interesting and animated discussion, though it really did seem that it wasn't escalating, which was quite an improvement over what could have been.

Somewhere during the dessert Hermione was startled from listening to the conversations around her by the feel of her husband's hand on her knee. He then slowly made his way up from her knee towards her waist in a very unhurried manner, making sure that he lingered where he knew it would have the most affect. Hermione stilled and gave him a look out of the corner of her eye that suggested he had lost his mind. She did not know the man that was nearly feeling her up at the dinner table, it certainly wasn't her husband! He would never do such a thing! Severus merely smirked and a playful fire burned in his eyes, challenging her to say something. In response she looked scandalized and managed to take her spoon and rap him gently on the knuckles beneath the table in response.

"Manners Mr. Snape, manners." She whispered as she leaned towards him, her eyes daring him to make the next move. With a smirk he snatched away her spoon and put it on the far side of his plate so she could not reach it. He gave her a look of triumph as he scooped the last few bites of his ice cream from the bowl in front of him with just a bit too much enthusiasm, while she was left unable to finish without a spoon. The only thing that stopped her from crossing her arms over her chest and snorting was Sebastian who was lodged just below her chest and she didn't want to startle or crush him. She settled for pouting instead. Both of them stopped when they heard a low chuckle from Arthur who was sitting across the table from them. Severus had enough grace too look a bit sheepish and Hermione blushed a deep red.

"I told you that you two would go well together did I not." Arthur beamed across the table gathering his dishes together so that they could be taken by the house elf.

"What did you say dear?" Molly said looking to her husband from besides her thinking that he was talking to her.

"Nothing Molly dear. I was speaking to Severus and Hermione."

"Oh, well, that is good. Well I suppose you should come along dears. I will show you both where the twins will be kept for the night. I am sure that you both would like to have a few minutes to check out where they will be." Molly said with a smile after a moment of thought. She gestured to Severus and Hermione to follow her while the other parents in the room began to disperse with diaper bags in hand and the appearance of a tea pot on the stove. There were different things for an after dinner tea that were appearing on the counter, obviously as a serve yourself if desired type of thing.

Severus and Hermione made their way up the staircase to the second floor that at one time was Bill and Percy's bedroom that was across the hall form Arthur's and Molly's room. It appeared that what had once been the room of the two no longer living Weasley men had been turned into a nursery that had four different cribs, a changing table and two rocking chairs in it. The room had obviously been expanded magically as there was still plenty of room on the floor for there to be a sizable blanket spread out for the sitting of small children to play with a few toys on the floor.

"The twins can have the crib by the door." Molly said pointing at the crib closest to them. "That way we will be able to hear them the best. Ron junior is staying the night as well and he is getting the one by the far wall. We usually don't have to worry about him though. He has gotten to sleeping through the night now." You can leave your diaper bag next to the changing table. You can get them situated and you can come down and join us for tea if you would like."

"Thank you." Hermione smiled. "I am just going to pump one more time and then I will come down. I have some milk already set aside that I pumped earlier, it is in the front pocket of the bag with a chilling spell on it. It should be enough for two feedings between the two. I guess they will have to eat formula for tomorrow till we come to pick them up. They should get hungry again in a couple hours."

"Alrighty dearies." Molly smiled. "We will be in the living room when you come down." She then smiled and left the pair in the room alone to say goodbye for the night to their children. Hermione went over to the crib and laid Sebastian in the crib and then went directly to the changing table to unpack an empty bottle to hold milk. Severus busied himself with putting Serenity with her brother and watching as they turned their heads towards each other and then fell asleep once they knew the other was there. He was still amazed by the fact that he was a father and that the two perfect children in the crib before him were his own. He was also acutely aware that this was just the beginning. He would soon have to help make more of these small packages of wonder. He just hoped he would be up to the task of being a good father. He just hoped there would be no more twins involved in the deal. He didn't know if he could handle more than one set of twins that close together. He must have been standing watching the twins sleep longer than he knew or Hermione was getting to be much better and faster at the whole pumping thing because he was startled when she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Severus, I am all done, we can go down now." She told him looking down at the two children so peacefully sleeping in the crib.

"I was hoping we could skip tea tonight." He said slipping his arm around her waist and drawing her close. "We can have the house elves send us something later."

"True." She said finally looking up at Severus. "Now that it is time to leave I find I don't want to leave."

"I know, but wasn't it you earlier today telling me it was just overnight."

"I know."

"It will be ok, I promise. I am sure that we will be occupied enough for a while that we won't worry about them tonight. We will have them back in the morning. We can come right after breakfast if you want."

"You know just how to make it better." Hermione said snuggling to his chest.

"Thank you for your confidence in me." He said running his hand along her cheek. "I have very few people telling me such things. Let us go home for now, we can stay for tea tomorrow when we come to pick them up. Come with me, I want to show you how much I love you again."

"Alright." She said with a smile and reaching up to grant a soft kiss on the lips. She was still torn about leaving the twins so far away from the castle. But she had to admit that her husband was being very convincing as he ran his hand up from her waist to brush questioningly against her chest. After a moment the broke apart and made the effort to actually leave the room. They managed after another five minutes and made their way down the stairs. They then walked into the living room where everyone had re-congregated after the diaper ritual.

"Are you staying for tea?" Harry asked holding a Lilly that had fallen asleep on his lap.

"No." Hermione said. "We are going to get back for the night. Thank you so much for inviting us for dinner. We will be picking the twins up sometime in the afternoon tomorrow." She told Molly giving her a quick hug.

"Alright. We will see you then, it is too bad you don't want to stay for tea, but we understand." Molly smiled. Hermione couldn't help but blush and Severus looked a bit uncomfortable with the whole conversation, especially since most of the others in the room had knowing smiles or scowls at the thought on their faces. "Have a lovely night dears." Hermione merely smiled through her embarrassment while Severus tried not to scowl too much. Arthur tried his hardest not to snicker at the apparent uncomfortable nature of the whole conversation and applied himself to his tea with great diligence.

Holding out his arm to Hermione Severus made to lead her out to apparate. Hermione smiled and took his arm. "Good night everyone." He said with a nod to the whole room. Then he turned and lead Hermione towards the door.

"Good luck." Ginny called out just as they reached the door to the hallway. Hermione thought she would die of embarrassment, but Severus steered her towards the door to the outside and lead her away.

"Well that was a bit awkward." Hermione said as they made their way out of the front gate.

"It is common knowledge what will likely occur tonight now the stupid law is on the books. It is not something that I enjoy being known, but it is something we can't really change." He said with a frown. "Let us not think about that right now though." He said reaching out his hand to her as they stepped out onto the lane that ran past the front gate. "Come let us finish what we started earlier this afternoon." With a smile Hermione took his hand and let herself be drawn to his side and tucked under his arm. Reaching down he drew her into a deep passionate kiss and then apprated them both away back to Hogwarts.


	30. Recompliance or Ministry Law Reexecution

**A/N: Here is the next chapter, IMPROTANT author's notes to follow in next chapter!**

Chapter 30

_Re-compliance or Ministry Law Re-execution_

They appeared a moment later, before gates of Hogwarts. Severus smiled down at Hermione who still clung to him even after it was clear that they were safely at their destination. They had stayed at the Weasley's for quite some time, as the sun was beginning to set and the stars were just beginning to shine through the quickly fading summers evening. It was pleasantly warm and none of the torches had been lit yet inside the castle that stood like a dark sentry in the gathering gloom. It was home.

"Come." Severus smiled down at Hermione, drawing himself out of her arms and towards the gates to let them in. She followed him with her own smile and let him guide her through the gates and reset the school wards. Then he took her hand and pulled her away from the path that lead up to the main doorway to the school.

"What is this?" Hermione asked as he led her towards the lake to a secluded area.

"This is something we have not done in a while." He smiled as he pulled her to himself near the edge of the forest, not far from the lake. "It is secluded here and we definitely won't be disturbed." He reached in for a kiss while running his hands along her sides, earning a groan from her.

"You continue to surprise me Severus." She panted when they pulled away to catch their breaths.

"I should hope so." He growled playfully as he nipped along her neck. He also managed to loosen a few of the buttons on her shirt to reveal part of her chest. They continued to kiss for a few minutes until Hermione halted it as she swatted at a nasty little bug intent upon making her its nightly meal.

"We have to do something about the bugs." She panted. "I refuse to become one big bug bite."

"I agree, I never planned on the bugs, but they have their purpose. Come with me." He told her leading her by the hand, shirt partially open towards a small stand of pine trees nearer the lake. Taking her on what appeared to be a small path between the trees he stopped before a certain tree.

"Where are we? This seems familiar." She said.

"It should." He smirked. "It would seem that you are losing your touch Mrs. Snape." He then let go of her hand and took out his wand. After a few practiced flicks, the boughs of the tree pulled away to reveal an archway within the trunk.

"Now I know where we are." Hermione said. "But I thought you needed the house elves to open it for you."

"Unusually I have to, but since I am still in one piece, I can open it without problem. Come, you know where it leads, let us finish this where it began." He held out his hand to her and she took it, letting herself be drawn into the darkness beyond. With a flick of his wand the boughs closed behind them and Severus drew Hermione closer to him in the dark and on towards their chambers.

"I am quite glad you are in one piece." Hermione quipped. "It would be most inconvenient if you were in more than one piece." She could not hold back the childish giggle that erupted from her.

"You had better hope _you_ come out in one piece after tonight wife." Severus growled as he pulled her along the dark hallway beneath the ground towards their chambers. They both nearly ran in the dark, both confident and sure of their path. Severus having taken this path many times and Hermione trusting in him and her knowledge of the hallway to guide her.

Once they had reached the end of the hallway, Severus drew her close for a breathless kiss before he opened the door into their chambers. The fire in the hearth had burned low, or had never been building up and the room was barely lit. They both nearly fell panting onto the hearth rug as the bookshelf swung closed behind them.

"As delightful as this is," Severus said while lying nearly atop Hermione. "I would suggest we adjourn to the bed. It is much more of a comfort on my bones." Though even as he said this he was setting about exploring her neck and collar bones with his mouth. After a few minutes they both finally made it to the bedroom, locking and warding the door very strongly. Only an explosion of great force was going to make any sort of dent in the wards that night and only if the world were suddenly coming to an end would the messenger of news that cracked the wards would escape death from either occupant of the room.

Once they had made it into their bedroom did Severus and Hermione seem to regain any semblance of thought again. There had been a terse remark made that had illuminated the room with candles, but that was not what Severus intended to light the room for the whole evening. With a few flicks of his wrist and wand Severus soon had a delightful blaze going within the hearth. He also managed to make sure that the curtains were closed so that there would be no rude awakenings in the morning. Then with a growl of intent he extinguished the candles and rounded on Hermione who had been leaning against one of the post of the bed. She had managed to kick off her shoes. Severus was enraptured anew with the disheveled look of her hair and opened shirt as she stood barefooted on the carpet.

"You are a vision." He growled. "But no more will you torment me for I intend to have you for myself." He caught her up beside him and kissed her in an unhurried way, kicking off his shoes.

"You already have me as your own husband." She sighed. "But I hope you still think I am a vision when you see all of me again. I am changed since the twins. I am not unblemished as before."

"Never fear." He cooed, yes cooed. He had managed to find that tone in his repertoire since he had first began to sooth a crying child. "Whatever changes have occurred are not something that will repulse me. They are signs of the wondrous gift you have given me. I never once thought of children of my own until I admitted to myself that I was in love with you. Once I married you it was something I actually looked forward to and still do. Whatever changes have occurred are nothing that will repulse me. Besides, I am not unblemished either and still you love me, who am I to begrudge you the marks of becoming a mother when you have accepted so much more upon me." He kissed down her neck and continued his assault on her shirt.

"You really were never good at the sweet nothings part of the deal." Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "You always have something so unromantically romantic to say in situations like these." She had managed to pull his shirt from his trousers and was set to running her hands over his torso beneath his still buttoned shirt.

"And yet my very unromantic declarations seem not to phase you my dear." He managed to chuckle.

"Well, one must take into account the nature of the man speaking such things. He would never think to do something so frivolous as sweet sappy lovey declarations of love. He is much more apt to giving an appropriate growl of approval and tracing every inch of skin with skilled hands." She said.

"Why exactly my dear, are you referring to me in a third person sort of reference?" He could not help but ask, pulling away to look at the lovely sight of Hermione in a completely unbuttoned shirt and a slightly reddened collar bone where he had been focusing most of his more recent attentions. He could not hold back the smirk as she had to pause and think of a good enough answer.

"It seemed right at the time?" She offered up with a shrug. "But enough talk. You are far too over dressed, as usual my dear." She said reaching up to the first button on his coat. With a melodious command she ran her hand down the front of his coat and the buttons undid themselves, similar to unzipping a zipper, as Hermione used a wandless spell that Severus had taught her. She had learned that she could also do wandless magic now that she was a Phoenix Keeper and had been carefully practicing different spells that would make her life easier and teaching more interesting as the last couple years had been progressing. She had quickly learned the spell that Severus had used every night when he changed out of his many buttoned robes. Now she used it to her own advantage so that she could get to him faster and with less work, which she felt was a most positive thing.

"It would seem you don't want to answer any of my questions with a straight answer tonight wife." He smirked as he removed the remainder of her shirt and began to tangle with the belt of her jeans, once Hermione had pushed his own shirt and coat off his shoulders. "Your seem to be trying to use distraction as a tactic for your own ends, but it won't work." He chuckled, carefully weighting the heft of her swollen nursing breasts in his hands. "I will get to the prize tonight, no matter the distractions, though the scenery I must say is most excellent.

"Men and their scenery." Hermione laughed as she rediscovered the contours of his chest with her hands, making her way down to his belt in turn. "At least you are sure to say how very much you enjoy what you see. It is a definite encouragement."

"Well of course. I can't let anyone think that I don't appreciate you or your body." He leaned in and with a flick of his hand had managed to banish her jeans off her body leaving her to stand in nothing more than her bra and underwear. Reaching out he ran loving fingers over the stretch marks that stood out a dark pink over the length of her torso. Kneeling down he kissed the length of one down her side and looked up at her from the floor.

"I can create a salve for you if you want." He told her. "I can make these marks disappear if that is what you wish." He told her in all seriousness. "You do not have to carry these marks if you don't want to, although I can say that they are not something that repulses me, I merely would like to know if they hurt you."

"No, they do not hurt me." She told him. "They are simply what is left after carrying any child, our children. I will carry these marks with honor. They won't always be this dark, and in fact they are lighter than before, they will go away with time. Besides I will likely have many more after bearing four more children, hopefully no more twins. I don't think I can handle that again."

"I don't think I could either." He agreed with a smirk. "One set is plenty to deal with at a time I must say! They are handful enough now; I just wonder what will happen when they get older."

"Well there will be school and boyfriends and alike."

"Speak not Madame of my daughters dating. There is and will not be any boy good enough to date my daughters. They will all be dunderheads just as the current generation is."

"And so speaks the paranoia of the dungeons." She sighed in an over dramatic way reaching down to take his hand and give him a tug back up to stand before her. Running her hands down his chest before her she quickly did another wandless spell that removed him down to also nothing but his boxers to stand beside her in the warm fire glow.

"I remember the first time we were in here." He said kissing her passionately and snaking his hand around to expertly unclip her bra and have it fall away. "I was rather nervous I must admit. I still worried that you would turn away from me. But now as we once again resume this lovely activity I can say that after that first night you changed my thoughts and outlook on what relationships I could have. About the relationships that I would be able to participate and contribute to; I must say that you are the only one who ever made an attempt to befriend or understand me in recent years. Dumbledore understood some things and different facets of my personality that he used to his greatest advantage, though indeed I must admit that it was his strategies that were important in the staging of the end of the war. But beyond that you are the reason that I still exist fully. I am just so thankful to have you as my wife."

"I remember too the first night we spent here together as husband and wife. It was one of the most memorable and important days of my life. It is ranked among the other important and meaningful days. Our anniversary, the birth of our children and the day you proposed; the look on Draco's face when he nearly got flattened by Prince." She said with love evident in her voice, but changing to something a bit more whimsical at the thought of Draco being carried away with a hoof print in his head, solving more than one of her problems in one fell swoop. Severus could not help the chuckle that escaped him at the memory.

"Ah, yes." He agreed. "It would have solved so many problems I will agree, but it would have created others as well. It is not taken lightly when an older name dies out in the magical world. It is good that he was not taken out before he was able to produce offspring. From what I hear he has a son in fact, to carry on the Malfoy name at least. The death of a name is usually seen as a losing a bit of our magical heritage and for those of a mostly magical linage it is seen as a great tragedy. I am eternally grateful that my name will now live on in our children, though for a long time I was prepared to let it die with me." He leaned in and kissed Hermione again.

"I for one am glad you chose differently." She said with a kiss. "Now, we should be talking of different and more important things, such as how long you will be standing around in those boxers of yours. I would very much like to see them join the rest of your things on the floor and you in the bed." She grinned giving the waist band a tug.

"Only if you join me." He growled, snapping his fingers and having both of their remaining scraps of clothing melt away into nothingness.

"I never thought you'd ask." She smirked and slid herself back onto the bed, beckoning him to follow. He quickly complied and soon they were entangled in the sheets and each other's arms panting as they came down from their first after sex high in nearly five months.

"That was too long in the making." Hermione said cuddling into his arms as he pulled the covers over their cooling bodies.

"I will agree." Severus murmured nuzzling the juncture of her neck and shoulder with his nose, drinking in the scent of his wife like an expensive perfume. "We need not wait as long again." He said marking his suggested timetable with a wiggle of his hips against hers.

"Well I do think we need a refresher course." She smirked drawing herself out of his arms long enough to unward and reach into a drawer of her nightstand. Severus understood and lit a candle on his nightstand so that they could see more easily. Both lying on their stomachs they began to flip through the Wizarding World's version of the Karma Sutra, beginning with the bookmarked pages.

Outside on the castle grounds the birds were beginning to herald the dawn and the sky tinged with pink, but down below in the dungeons the occupants were finally slumbering contentedly in each other's arms after a long and exhaustive night of getting reacquainted.


	31. IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTES! PLZ READ!

**AN: I am sorry guys. But I cannot finish this story like I intended, time and other constraints prevent me from finishing in the manner that I would like. I have tried in vain to finish in the manner that I would like but it is not to be. I don't know if I will ever finish this story in the manner that I desire, but in all likelihood not. **

**Despite the fact that I will not be finishing this story like I want to I will fulfill the promise that I would not leave you all hanging indefinitely and I will provide for you a quick outline of how the story was to progress and finish. **

_Severus and Hermione have their night alone, return to get children and then upon return to the castle all witness together the birth of the two phoenix chicks._

_The phoenix chicks end up being one yellow and one purple, their other color of plumage is yet to be decided._

_Severus and Hermione continue letting the Weaselys take their children once a week so they can get at least one night alone in a week as school resumes and continues_

_Draco learns about the family's routine and makes plans. Hattie conceives again._

_Draco and His father or one of his minions finds a way to steal away the twins from out from under the Weasley's nose ~ Christmas time._

_Severus goes postal, Hermione is not much better, now that the eggs have hatched the Phoenix can go and find out more information and learn about Lucius being back though they don't quite understand it, and between Severus knowledge and that of the phoenix they figure out what is going on. Takes two days. Hattie manages to keep children safe and alive while the 'men' are plotting, helped greatly by house elves more loyal to her than to Draco and father. Draco is seemingly going closer and closer to insane Lucius is way worse. _

_Severus and Hermione as well as some of the other Order members work at attacking Malfloy manner. Because Phoenix keepers they are able to more easily break in, possibly in animagui form modified by Phoenix fire. _

_Young phoenix join the fight too, Severus and Hermione know but don't have enough time to figure out meaning. _

_Fight and battle Draco and father, both at or fast approaching complete insanity, Hattie is lucky they have been too busy to go after her or notice that she is doing her best to keep babies safe. _

_Lucius is defeated and physically falls apart mentally already gone, perhaps a black gooey stinky mess that looks similar to acid eaten Dementor or something equally as icky. Draco's mind, or what is left leaves him and he dies and semi rots disintegrates to something similar to Lucius because of how connected he was to him because of potion, making as well as being covered in stuff when cacoon broke. _

_Severus and Hermione save their children, some tense moments with Hattie but things get smoothed over because of phoenix. The two young phoenix, slightly older than large chicks have each settled over their chosen twin, which colors go to which is still undecided and parents very happy and relieved to see children safe and proud and surprised that they are phoenix keepers too. _

_Hattie is released from marriage to Draco because he is dead and is able to keep the house and what money is left because the heir is her son. _

_Severus and Hermione return to the castle to find out that Madame Pomphery has been looking for them to tell them they are once again pregnant, single this time, sex undecided. _

_Happy ending for all. _

_Epilogue_

_Hattie finds a nicer and much better relationship despite marriage law with some pureblood whose wife had died because of childbirth. A made up person. She has a daughter by Draco, finishes and has 4 -6 other kids by her nice and loving husband, name unknown._

_Severus and Hermione have 1 more set of twins and the rest are single babies. Only the first two are Keepers quite a handful. Other names of their children undecided eventually retire to mansion and enjoy company of their grandkids and great grandkids. _

_Story ends on a very happy note with possible reference back to first and second chapter of the phoenix the raven and prince charming._

**As you can see I have quite a bit more that I would like to have written, but once again I am very sorry that I can not. This is not a choice I have made easily or lightly but it was something that had to happen. There was something that had to be cut out of my life and fanfiction was the item, all other options were unthinkable and uninhabital. I truly am sorry for being unable to finish this as I would like, but I can say it is now much easier to walk away when I have at least go the last bit of the story out to be seen even if it is not fleshed out. I promised to finish and not leave you hanging and now I have written it, even if it is not up to what I want. **

**I wish all of you the best of luck in whatever you choose to do. I know not if I will ever write any more fanfics or finish this story to its fleshed out end. **

**God Bless. ~ Dragons Quill**


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